That Summer
by Deanna the Redneck Wolfie
Summary: Jacob finally has enough.  He is tired of hurting over Bella and can no longer stand by while she makes bad choices.  He escapes to a ranch in CO to learn a new trade and learns more about life than he ever expected.
1. Chapter 1

!That Summer

Chapter 1

If you find some happiness inside yourself, you'll start findin' it in a lot of other places too.

I found myself travelling back to La Push along I-84 through Oregon with my boys from an unexpected, emotionally packed trip to Colorado. This old truck that I picked up still needs so many things taken care of to make it right. Thinking on the laundry list of things that needed to be fixed on Scarecrow, I couldn't help but feel a smile creep across my face, reminiscing about the very same conversation she would have with me about this silly old truck that summer five years ago.

As I had passed the open fields through Utah and Idaho with this year's wheat crops in or the pastures with the cattle quietly grazing the day away, I couldn't help but think back to that summer.

I pulled into the rest area just west of Boardman needing to eat some lunch. My stomach and the boys had been complaining about being hungry for the last 50 miles. I stopped at a fast food joint, ordered enough food to feed an army and then went straight to the rest area so that we all could stretch our legs, eat, play awhile and then get back on the road.

Gus was the first one to leap out of the truck. Right out of the window! Dopey dog. Tater at least waited for me to open the door. He ran after Gus and they both proceeded to tussle with each other on the freshly trimmed grass. The smell of the fresh cut grass took me back to that summer with her.

After we all had some food in our bellies and had a chance to take a potty break, I whistled, "FFFFWWWEEETT. Load up! Time to go." We jumped back into the cab and hit the road. I figured I had a good 8 hours to drive before I would have to stop for the night. I didn't know how well Gus and Tater would travel cross country so I didn't want to push it too far. That and Scarecrow still needed me to check under the hood every now and then to make sure he still had enough oil to keep him lubricated. He kind of reminded me of another old truck I used to work on occasionally.

Bella's truck finally gave up the ghost five years ago. She was very upset with the fact that it broke down on her way out to La Push one afternoon. I guess she wanted to come out and talk over some stuff considering all the fighting that we had been going through. I had been trying to prove to her that Edward was nothing more than a controlling, egotistical ass and she had been trying to prove to me that I wasn't far behind Edward with my attempts at manipulating her feelings. That was the conversation that had put a knot in my shorts and made me realize I had to leave for awhile so I wouldn't say anything I might regret. That summer held so many firsts for Bella and me. Many of them were experienced together. Some were not.

After one of our more heated conversations about whom I thought she should be with and why, I went home and found Billy in the front room watching the Mariners game with Charlie. They both picked up on the mood I was in, so they left me alone for awhile so that I could cool down and speak civilly.

"May I ask what happened?" Billy started.

"You may, but that doesn't mean that I have to answer." I grumbled under my breath just like a 10 year old kid who didn't get his way.

"OK. Let me try it this way. Is there anything that I can do to help?" Billy asked with a knowing look on his face.

"I need to get away for awhile. Just get some distance from Bella." I sighed as I finished.

Charlie's interest perked up at his daughter's name. "What do you mean Jacob? Get away to Seattle type getaway or get away to New York type getaway?" Charlie asked.

"I just need to get away, out of the state, for awhile so that it isn't easy for me to just drop everything that I am doing and rush to Bella every time Edward hurts her feelings." I said. After taking a deep sigh, I continued, "I usually wind up getting hurt as well. Charlie, you know that I love Bella with every fiber of my being, but she can just drive me stinking batty some days. I figure that if I get some distance for a short while that perhaps it might force her to deal with Edward on her own and discover that what I have been saying all along is the truth." I sat there on the couch with my head in my hands, feeling quite defeated.

"I think that I might have an answer for you Jacob." Charlie said with a smirk on his face.

"You do?" I looked confused I'm sure.

"Yes. I have some family that owns a ranch in Colorado. This ranch has been in the family for generations. I know that every summer they accept one kid from a reservation, any reservation, for an externship type program. With a kind word from me, I'm sure that I could get you that position. You will learn all about farming and ranching. Plus you get paid while you learn."

"That sounds like a deal to me." Billy added.

"Getting away for awhile will give you AND Bella a new perspective on things." Charlie said in an encouraging tone.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." I returned, still not so sure about REALLY leaving even if it was only for a few months. Being that far away from Bella may not be a good thing.

"The whole reason that this program exists is because they are teaching kids from the reservations skills that can be brought back to the rez and put to good use. The ranch in turn gets help to run things through the summer. It's really a win - win situation for all concerned."

Charlie was making it sound, ummmm, better anyways. I was already an accomplished mechanic. I had a few regular customers that I maintained their vehicles for, on a routine basis for my spending money. I wasn't sure about this ranching thing though. Charlie did say that I could make some real money to help out Dad with and pay for some stuff around here.

"What about Billy?" I asked. If I do this externship, it dawned on me that I wouldn't be here to take care of Billy's needs.

"Don't worry about that Jake. Billy can move in with me while you are gone. I am sure Bella won't mind helping out where she can. Harry will be around as well to take care of Billy when I get tired of looking at his wrinkly, worn out old ass." Now Charlie had a huge grin on his face.

"Wrinkly huh? I'll show you wrinkly!" Billy said as he ran Charlie's toes over with one of the wheels of his chair.

"Owww! I was just joking. Shit! That hurt!" Complained Charlie.

"Ya big baby!" Billy rolled off laughing.

"Oh my gawd! I am surrounded by lunatics! I thought that I was the kid here." I couldn't even look at the two men who were supposed to be the adults, shadowboxing each other. Some days, if it wasn't for the fact that I looked exactly like Great Grandpa Ephraim, I would swear that I was adopted.

Little did I know what that conversation would lead to now, 5 years later.

Every wheat field that I pass, every pasture that I drive by, all I can see is her face and although I know that it isn't real, I can feel her in my arms, from that summer spent in Colorado.

That summer.


	2. Chapter 2

That Summer

Chapter 2

You can't keep trouble from visitin', but you don't have to offer it a chair.

~~5 years prior~~

"I don't believe it! I just can't freaking believe it!" Bella cried out after slamming her cell phone shut. Her loud voice brought a moment of unwanted attention to her and her friends while they were sitting in the booth at the Forks Diner.

"What's going on?" Jessica asked, not quite sure how to react to Bella's outburst.

"Are you okay?" asked Angela as she noticed Bella's shoulders begin to shake.

"He wants to take a break." Bella grunted out through clenched teeth.

"Take a break?" Jessica and Angela said simultaneously.

"Yeah. Take a break." Bella barely whispered now. "He wants to take a break from dating me. He said that I have been suffocating him the last month or two with always wanting to be with him. I just don't understand. Why wouldn't he like the fact that I want to spend my time with him?"

"Edward has always been aloof, Bella. When you first came to Forks, didn't I tell you that no one seemed good enough for him?" Jessica stated with a caring but 'I told you so' tone to her voice.

"Jessica. Now is not the time to gloat. Bella is about to fall apart." Angela scolded.

"I'm not gloating, Angie. I am trying to help Bella get through this hard time." Jessica said as she was rubbing comforting circles on Bella's back. "Why would Edward say such a thing? He knows that you gave up going to college last year so that you could help him start up his business. He has to know how hard that was for you and how disappointed your Dad was that you didn't go. Not to mention your Mom too."

Bella just rolled her eyes at the mention of her parents. She knew that they would both be utterly devastated at the news that she believed that helping Edward start up his photography and graphic arts business was better for her than getting a higher education. She did tell her parents that she could always go back and get a degree, after the business was a success. That was a year ago.

"So the business is taking a little longer to succeed than I'd anticipated." She said, deflated.

"Yeah well, Edward sure acts like it's successful. You would never know that he hasn't sold an ad yet to any major corporations." Jessica said with a knowing smirk on her face.

"How could you know that Jess?" Asked Angie.

"The graphic art part of his business is in direct competition with my Dad's business. They both pitched work to the same big hitters this last winter. Dad got all the jobs. Dad said that Edward is not all that creative. Each ad he pitched looked remarkably alike, almost like he was recycling the same ad, just changing the colors or a picture or two." Jessica said matter-of-factly.

"That's not true!" Bella was getting mad now. Jessica didn't know that Bella had put her own time into some of those promotional campaigns that Jess so blatantly insulted.

"I'm just saying what my Dad told me." Jessica huffed.

"Angie, would you mind letting me out? I need some fresh air and I need to get out here for now." Bella asked as she gathered her truck keys and laid down enough money to cover her part of the bill and tip.

"Where are you going Bella? You seem a bit too upset to be driving right now," a worried Angie said as she scooted out of the booth so Bella could get out and leave.

"Not sure. I just need to go somewhere I can get my head straight. Perhaps the library or the park. I don't know. I just need to go. I promise that I will be careful driving, really." Bella said with a cracking voice. Tears threatening to fall. She headed out, into the parking lot and climbed into her truck, closed the door, rested her head on the steering wheel and began to sob.

"Jess! You do know that you just made things worse!" Angie stated angrily as she picked up the bill and headed for the cashier to pay.

"How could I make things worse? I simply stated the facts as I know them. I can't help it if Bella had her hopes and dreams riding on Edward Cullen. THAT is not MY fault." Jessica said, sticking to her guns.

"No, you couldn't help it. You just couldn't keep your mouth shut. Bella gets sucker punched by the very man that you are insulting, and you think that that is the perfect time to remind her of the mistakes she's made? I just don't get you some days Jessica." Angie said in a disgusted voice.

"What's not to get? I told the truth. I can't help it that it was something that Bella didn't want to hear." Jessica stated unimpressed and shrugging her shoulders.

"Your timing just stinks sometimes Jess. Bella is really hurting and you managed to rub salt in her wounds." Angie turns from the cashier and heads for the door. She looks out into the parking lot and can see Bella crying in her truck. She is torn between running out to comfort Bella, letting Bella have the time she needs or punching Jessica square in the nose. She settles for taking a deep cleansing breath and going to her own car. She makes a mental note to call Bella a little later to check up on her.

Bella, having cried her eyes dry, decided that she would find Edward and talk to him face to face. The 'I don't want to be with you right now' part of the previous conversation must have slipped her mind. She drove to the office where Edward's business, Cullen Graphic and Photo, was located. When she went inside she found the reception and office area were empty. She checked her watch to make sure she didn't show up at an off hour. Nope. Someone should be here. She headed back to the photography studio hoping that Edward was shooting some new pics for the promo pamphlet for the studio. What she found knocked the wind right out of her lungs.

There he was with Lauren, one of his favorite models. Naked. On the stage that only two days ago, he was doing the same thing with her. Bella could not, literally, take a breath in for what seemed like hours. All she could do was stare. He was moving on top of her, grunting just the same way that he did with her. Bella's heart shattered. Her breath that finally did come was such a loud gasp that Edward, startled at the noise, jumped off of Lauren and fell off of the edge of the stage. He and Lauren both scrambled for clothes to cover with. Once he had a grasp of what was happening, he had the nerve to get mad.

"What the hell are you doing here Bella? I told you, word for word, that I didn't want to see you anymore. We need to take a break." He said half embarrassed at being caught. His eyes would not look into hers.

All she could think to say was, "I'm s-sorry...I-I..." before she turned and ran out of the studio. He never even tried to follow. He just looked at Lauren who was not sure where to go from here. He made his intentions very clear in no time flat, when he climbed back on for the finish.

Bella fired up her truck and burned rubber as much as that truck could do, out of the lot and headed for La Push. She was flooring the accelerator, not caring that the last few weeks, her truck had been smoking, probably burning oil, because she wanted to get to Jacob as fast as she could. The high RPMs and the burning of the oil proved to be too much for the old truck. The engine seized about half way to Jake's house. Luckily there was enough momentum from the moving truck to coast over to the side of the road.

Bella was about to explode! She was going through so many emotions all at once, hurt, anger, frustration, hate, sadness. She didn't know the appropriate way to respond to everything that was going on. She settled on grabbing the steering wheel and trying to shake the shit out of it all the while screaming at the top of her lungs. When she exhausted herself with this fit of anger and rage, she looked for her cell and tried to call Charlie, knowing full well that he would be very upset with needing to send a wrecker for her. She thought to herself that he should have been expecting this type of a call considering the age of her truck. After her call to Charlie, which went much better than she thought it would because he WAS expecting this type of a call to happen, she called Jake.

"Hey Bells! What's up?" Jake asked in his ever cheerful mood.

She tried to hide her emotions in her voice but she didn't do a very good job. "Jake, can you come and get me? I was on my way to La Push and my truck just broke down. I'm stuck on the side of the road."

"Yeah, sure sure Bells. Do you need me to bring Embry's truck so we can tow the truck to my garage?"

"Thanks for the offer but Charlie has already made arrangements for the Happy Hooker Towing Company to come get the truck. They'll be here in twenty minutes."

"Why would Charlie have someone else work on your truck? What's wrong with it?"

"I'm not sure. Just come get me please." She said

"Be there in a jiffy!"

She closed her phone and just sank back into the stiff seat of the truck and waited. Closing her eyes and wondering what it was that she did that made Edward turn on her so. She gave up everything to be with him. She broke Jake's heart because she chose Edward. She gave up going to college. She stopped talking to most of her friends because Edward didn't like them. She stopped hanging out with what friends she did have except for a few hours every Friday that she spent with Jessica and Angie and now she won't even be doing that anymore. At least not with Jessica. Now her truck is broken. Beyond repair? She's not sure. What she was sure of is that the only friend that she trusts right now is on his way to get her.

Jake's little Rabbit pulled in behind the truck about ten minutes later. He, as usual, was way too happy for his own good. He had been playing some beach football with his friends from the res when Bella called, so Embry and Quil tagged along. No matter how bad a day she would have, just seeing those Quileute boys without their shirts on and in cutoffs, as they usually dressed for beach activities, made her smile.

They jumped out of the Rabbit and strode over to the truck. Jake opened the door for Bella to get out. He offered his hand in assistance as any gentleman would do. Once she was out of the truck he scooped her into his signature hug. Despite her bad day, she squeaked out her usual, "Can't breathe!" Jacob set her back on her feet and then proceeded to pop the hood of the truck.

"Hey Bella!" called Quil from the far side of the truck. "Yo Bells!" chimed Embry. His smile was just as illuminating as Jacob's. "What the heck did you do to her?" Em asked in a teasing way.

"I was just driving Embry. It sputtered and lurched and then...dead. Maybe it popped a belt." She offered.

"Nah Bells. No popped belt here." Jake said. "The head-gasket is completely gone on this side of the engine. Didn't you notice that you were using more oil than normal?"

Holding her head in an ashamed manner, "No." was all she whispered. "Can it be fixed?"

"Hard to say for sure without breaking the engine down completely. I could do that for you if you would like Bella." Jake offered. "Hell yeah! A complete rebuild sounds awesome. I've always wanted to do one and here is the perfect specimen!" Quil was very enthusiastic.

"We will have to wait and see what Charlie wants to do guys." Bella said. "He might not want to spend the money. I'm not sure that I can afford the repairs either."

"We won't charge you nothing Bella. All you would need to pay for would be the parts...and the pizza, soda and movies to keep your pit crew happy!" Quil offered with a little boy grin on his face.

Bella chuckled a bit under her breath trying to not give away the gaping hole in her chest where her heart once was. Not with an audience. She needed to get Jacob by himself so she could talk.

As the boys were poking around in the engine compartment, the tow truck arrived, hooked up the old truck and towed it to Forks Automotive for a professional once over. Once the wrecker was hooked and gone, Jake asked, "Where to now Bells? Home or the beach?"

She thought about it for just a moment of two. With a sigh, "How about the beach?" She put out there with a fake smile. Only Jacob notice the effort that she was going through. "Ok. To the beach it is."

Once they got to First Beach, the over-sized boys fell out of the Rabbit and ran to join the game already in progress, except Jacob who instinctively knew that something was wrong. He took Bella by the hand and together they walked over to their familiar piece of driftwood and sat down. She would not look up. Jake just let her sit for a few moments, no pressure. He knew she would speak when she was ready. She would take in a deep breath as if she was going to speak, hold it for a few seconds and then quietly sigh it back out. She did this for a few minutes before she finally did speak. "Edward said that he wants to take a break."

"Huh?" Jacob was confused.

"He wants to take a break from dating me. I know why too."

"Ok. Why?"

"He wants to be free to have sex with his new model. I caught him doing her on the stage in the studio earlier today." she sniffled and swallowed hard to rid the lump in her throat that was forming.

"He what!" Jake asked excitedly. This news was making him angry.

"He wants to take a break dating me so that he can hump the help. I just can't get over the fact that he was doing the same thing to her that he did to me just a couple days ago." she said before she thought about what just came out of her mouth. Her eyes got as wide as they could and she slapped her hand over her mouth. Too late. The cow had already left the barn.

Now Jake was fuming. "He did WHAT with you?" He was so angry he was panting.

"Jake. Don't be angry. You know that we have been dating for over a year now. It was bound to happen." she half whisper/cried.

"Bella, he is just using you. He always has been. He's talked you out of your friends, college...even me at times and now you tell me he took that away from you as well? I hope you were smart enough to use protection! I told you he was no good for you. That I was the one you were meant to be with."

"I was using protection!" she spat back. Who the hell was he to tell her how to run her life.

"Good. One good decision among many bad." Jacob said indignantly.

With the conversation not going down the path that she thought it would, "I'm going to make one more good decision Jacob. Take me home. Now. Please." she put as much effort into being civil as she could. Her shattered heart was having the pieces being strewn to the four winds and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

He walked her to his car, held the door open for her to get in, walked around to the driver's side, got in, fired the Rabbit up and drove to Forks without a word between the two. He waited until she was in the house before he left since Charlie's cruiser was not in the driveway when they got there. He may be angry with her right now, but he still worries about her safety. When he got home, he found Charlie with Billy watching the baseball game.

That's when Jacob and Charlie had the conversation that would change Jacob's outlook on life forever.


	3. Chapter 3

That Summer

Chapter 3

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

"Hey thanks Lynn. Yep. You too! Alright then, expect him to arrive in a couple'a days. He really is a good kid. Hard worker. Ha ha ha, yeah I remember. Take care now! Call if there is anything that we can do to help. OK? Bye!" Charlie was eager to let Jacob and Billy know that the ranching program was still available and he managed to get Jacob in for the summer.

"Hey Dad.." He heard Bella calling for him from the top of the stairs. "Yeah Bells?"

She was rummaging through the closet in the bathroom. "You didn't happen to come across my overnight toiletry bag have you? I can't seem to find it." She had a look of frustration on her face.

"No hunny. I'm sure that I haven't. These hands haven't touched anything even remotely girly in quite some time!" He chuckled to himself. Then he had a slightly sad look come across his face while he pondered on what he had just admitted to. "What'cha need your overnight bag for anyway?"

"Oh, um, I was just looking for a bottle of lotion that I borrowed from Angie. I wanted to return it." She hoped that she was able to convince Charlie that what she said was the truth. "Well good luck with that Bells. I need to run to the bank and then out to the res to chat with Billy about sending Jacob to the Swan Ranch for the summer."

Bella's whole body went stiff in the blink of an eye. "What?" She squeaked out.

Realizing that he hadn't told Bella of the plans to send Jacob away for summer, Charlie had to think quickly. "Bells, do you remember my cousin Chris Rhodes?" She shook her head no. "Well, anyway, he passed away a couple years ago and left his wife to run the ranch. She has been having some difficulties running it by herself and called to see if I knew of anyone who wouldn't mind working long hard hours for a few months. My thoughts went right to Jacob. Figured he could use the money." Charlie hoped that Bella couldn't tell that he was telling her a little white lie. He called the ranch, not the other way around.

"I want to go too!" Bella almost screeched. "I'm a hard worker. I can keep the house in order. I can cook and clean. I bet I could even keep the yard mowed and the garden weeded. She offered. Bella was having a mini meltdown with the thought of Jacob being so far away. "As long as I don't have to take care of those big animals, you know, cows and horses and such. They freak me out a little. Hehe." She looked at Charlie, using the fear of those large animals to cover her fear of losing Jacob.

"Bella, I don't think that you going to work at the ranch is such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Don't you have that business that you and Edwin started up to take care of? Rushing off to Colorado will not help your bottom line. You just need to let Jacob go work at the ranch while you take care of your job here in Forks. You aren't being very professional if you just up and run away when things get tough ya know. Besides that, I'm going to need help with Billy's care while Jacob is gone. You know how much he loves your cooking. We probably won't be able to get rid of him after his stay here!"

"But Dad..." "Don't 'but dad' me, young lady. You gave up your friends and college for that business and that man, so I expect you to try and make a go of it. Prove to all of us that that business really was the right choice for you." "But..." "Not another word Bella. You are staying here in Forks until that business is self sufficient or it closes." Charlie felt bad that he was coming down on Bella so hard but he really didn't want her to know that she was the reason that Jacob was leaving for awhile. He really did love his daughter, even if she wasn't making the best choices at the moment.

"I'm headed out now so you have fun finding your missing bag and I'll be back in a couple'a hours. Just about time for dinner. Do you want to make dinner or do you want me to bring something home from town?"

"I was going to start a meatloaf in a little while so just don't be too long out there on the res, OK?" Bella replied in a flustered fashion. Does Jacob even know what Charlie has in store for him? She wondered to herself, resuming her search for her overnight bag that held her birth control pills that Charlie was not aware that she took. She may legally be old enough to do many things that Charlie didn't approve of but she still didn't want her dad to be angry with her. She really did love her father, even if he was frustrating the heck out of her at the moment.

"Alright Bells. I promise I won't be long." Charlie said as he gave her a genuine smile while heading out the front door.

Charlie went straight to the bank first, withdrew some money and then headed out to La Push. As he pulled into the Black's driveway he spotted Jacob's friends hanging out at the garage. He went up to the door of the house, knocked and then let himself in. Billy was rolling himself down the hallway with some folded towels on his lap. Charlie quipped, "I thought that I paid extra for the French maid's outfit. I don't see it."

Without missing a beat, Billy retorted, "You didn't pay THAT much extra mister," as he turned at the bathroom and set the towels on the sink counter. "What brings you to the res today Charlie?"

"My cruiser." Charlie deadpanned.

"Smart ass." Billy gave Charlie a blank stare.

"Better than being a dumb ass!" Charlie threw back with a grin. "God I'm funny!"

"Looks don't count pal." Billy snickered as Charlie feigned being hurt by the remark.

"I came out here to let you know that the externship at the ranch is a definite go if Jacob is still of the mind to do it. I spoke with my late cousin's wife and everything is set up and ready to go. Jacob just needs to agree. I don't want to force anything on him that he doesn't want to do."

"Well, you'll have to ask him yourself. He should be out in the garage. He was trying to get a couple of cars repaired so that he could convince you that Bella's truck should come here for him and his cohorts in crime to work on for her."

"Yeah I saw them as I pulled in. Didn't look like much work was getting done though."

Billy chuckled, "Knowing Quil and Embry, probably not. Those two probably have Jake behind in schedule. Go on out and talk with Jake. See if you can convince him that going to the ranch is best for now. He really doesn't want to be away from Bella that long. Told him that absence make the heart grow fonder. He told me, 'out of site, out of mind.' When did my boy get to be so smart yet so cynical?"

"I don't know Billy. I'll be right back. I feel the need to put the fear of God in those boys!" Charlie said with an evil smirk dancing in his eyes. "Be my guest. They haven't had a good scare in a while. Might do them some good." Billy wore the same smirk in his eyes.

Charlie stepped out of the house and strode over to the garage as quietly as he could, stealth mode he called it. He could hear the three boys talking about some of the local girls wanting to hang with the boys at the beach next Friday. One of the boys, Quil perhaps, Charlie thought, was making crude comments about how easy some of those girls were and if the guys played their cards right, they might be able to get some before the weekend was over. Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head back and forth. "Was I like that when I was 17?" He asked himself under his breath. "Probably." He decided to break up this little gossip and sex talk fest. He walked through the open garage doors with his hand on his hip as if he where reaching for his service revolver and shouted, "Stop what you are doing to that car!"

Quil, sitting in the driver's seat, having jumped with a start at Charlie's booming voice, accidentally hit the horn causing a very loud, prolonged beep. Embry, who was working under the hood, hit the back of his head as he stood up straight at Charlie's command to stop and then had his eardrums pierced with the shrill sound of the horn. Jacob, being under the car, hit his head hard as well as he tried to see who was making such demands of him when he knew that he had permission to repair the vehicle. He was lucky because the horn wasn't so load under the car.

Quil was now standing next to Embry, who was rubbing the side of his head and Jacob was just scootching out from under the car when Charlie said, "This car matches the description of a car that was stolen in Hoquiam. I am going to have to take all three of you in for questioning now." His face was as serious as his voice.

"Now hang on Charlie! This car belongs to..." Jake tried to explain but Charlie was two steps ahead of him. "Quite you! I need all of you to turn, face the car and put your hands on the roof. Do it now!" Quil and Embry complied immediately, scared witless. Jacob on the other hand challenged Charlie's command. He stood his ground, looking Charlie right in the eyes and said, "This car is not stolen Charlie. It belongs to one of the teachers from the res school."

"Are you sure Jacob?" Charlie's voice was about to give away the mirth he was trying to hide.

"Yes I am Charlie. I've been changing the oil for her every 3000 to 4000 miles since she bought it! I'm positive you're looking for a different car." Jacob's confidence was unshakable.

"Well, all righty then." Charlie smiled. "Better tell your friends that everything is ok because they look like they haven't taken a breath since I came in here." Quil and Embry both let out deep sighs of relief. Quil started laughing and pointing at Embry, "Ha ha ha ha, you look like you were about to piss your pants!" "Not funny Quil. Unlike you, I have never been on the wrong side of the law. That was freakin' scary!" Embry said with a half frightened huff, his heart still pounding in his throat. "Yeah it was! And I ain't never been on the wrong side of the law either you dipshit." Quil poked Embry in the arm with his finger. "Not yet." Embry added.

"Hey you two, would you mind of I had a few words with Jacob in private?" Charlie asked.

"Not at all Chief Swan. I think that I need to be getting home anyways. Jake, I'll catch'ya later." Embry said as he headed for the door. "Me too Chief. I was supposed to help my parents at the store after I was done helping Jake. I'll just get to going too! Later Jake!" Quil ran out of the garage to catch up with Embry.

"What's so secret that you have to chase my friends away Charlie?" Jacob asked as he walked over to the bag holding the warm sodas. He took one out, popped the top, took a long draw from the can, swallowed the warm beverage, set the can down on the work bench and then, as he was walking back over to talk to Charlie, let loose a long, gurgled belch that should have rattled the windows. "Ah, warm soda." Jake said in a satisfied tone. "What can I do for you Charlie?"

"It's not what you can do for me. It's more like what I've done for you. Do you remember the other night when you came home very angry and we talked about you going to Colorado for a few months to help out at a ranch?" "Yeah, I remember. Why?" "Well Jacob, I spoke to my cousin's wife about the program and she said that you can still participate if you wish."

Jacob took to looking at the ground, contemplating the conversation from a few days ago as well as the one he was having now. Did he really want to be that far from Bella for that long? Was he up to doing what it took to work on a ranch? He would learn new skills. He would be too far from Bella. He would get to travel some. He wouldn't see Bella for several months. Bella, Bella, Bella, Bella...aaaahhhh! She was the reason he was even entertaining this idea in the first place.

"Will it cost me anything to do this?" Jake asked.

"The only thing that you will need to pay for right away is the gas, food and lodging costs to get from here to there, and..." Charlie said as he stuffed his hand in his coat pocket, withdrawing the money he had just pulled from the bank, "...I am sure that this will cover those expenses."

Jake looked at the $600.00 that Charlie handed him. "I can't take this from you Charlie."

"Consider it a loan. You can pay me back when you get back in August."

"I-I don't know what to say." Jake's eyes were showing the mixed feelings he was going through. In his head, all he heard was 'yes.. no.. yes.. no.. yes.. no.. yes.. no.. yes.. no..'

"Jake, take the money please. This little trip will do you a world of good. Who knows what type of new skills you will bring back with you. Rest assured that Bella will still be here when you get back. And just so you know, they do have working telephones in Colorado too."

Charlie again held out the money for Jacob to take. The bills flipping back and forth with the wave of Charlie's hand. "Remember, Billy will be staying with me and Bella, so there really is no reason for you not to go." Charlie took Jacob's large hand into his own and gently placed the money in the upturned palm. He then closed Jake's fingers around the cash. "You deserve this Jake. Go have some fun this summer. Don't live your life always worrying about taking care of everyone else. Take care of yourself for once. Please?"

Jake's lips were pursed into a tight line. With a deep inhale, he decided, "What the hell! You only live once, right? When do I leave?" Jake's face began to brighten as the weight of all his responsibilities began to lift off of his shoulders. He could physically feel a lightness fill his body. His smile grew to epic proportions only to be partially eclipsed by Charlie's.

"Good choice son. Let's go in the house and get your and Billy's things packed. We can Mapquest your journey to Colorado, get Billy loaded into the cruiser and then you can follow in your car to my house for some homemade meatloaf for dinner. You can spend the night at my house and then head out first thing in the morning. How's that sound?" Jacob didn't know how to react. He went to shake Charlie's hand but opted to give him a huge hug instead. Charlie grunted as Jake squeezed tight. He patted Jake on the back a few times before the hug was broken.

They both finished getting the oil changed in the car Jacob had been working on. They pulled the car out of the garage and parked it were the teacher would have access to pick it up at her convenience. They got all of the tools put away in the appropriate places and then as Jake was closing the garage doors he said, "That really wasn't very funny."

"What wasn't?"

"The 'Stop what you're doing, that car is stolen' thing."

"Sure it was! I am still laughing about it! You should have seen your friends' faces! Priceless!"

They walked back to the house, Charlie with his arm around Jake's broad shoulders, giving those shoulders a squeeze or two just as a father would his son. Once they were finished getting everything packed, Jacob jumped into his Rabbit after assisting with getting Billy situated into the cruiser, fired it up and then lead the way towards the Swan residence.

Bella was startled by the front door opening. Charlie maneuvered Billy through the door while Jacob followed, carrying in all of Billy's luggage. "Well, hey everyone!" She stated. "If I knew you were coming, I'd a baked a cake." She had a smile on her face.

"I don't mind waiting young lady. A cake sounds delicious. Although your dad did offer us some of your homemade meatloaf as well." Billy countered. "And from what I can smell, it's gonna be good!"

"Ack! My meatloaf!" She blurted as she spun and ran back in the kitchen, reaching for the oven mitts with one hand while pulling the oven open with the other. She put the mitts on, pulled out the loaf and set it on the top of the stove so that it could rest just a bit before it was to be sliced. She turned her attention to the pot on the stove with the boiling potatoes in it. She picked up a fork and poked a chunk or two to test how done they were. The spuds seemed to be just right so she turned the burner off as well as the oven, picked up the boiling pot and carried it over to the sink to drain off the water. As she was pouring the potato chunks into the colander that was waiting in the sink, Jake came in behind her, sank into the chair at the kitchen table and just watched. He could hear her humming a tune to herself. He was starting to doubt his decision to leave for the summer.

"What'cha making Bells?"

"Mashed potatoes. To go with the meatloaf. You still like mashed potatoes don't you?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

"Do wolves crap in the woods?" He replied with an identical smirk. He stood up and walked up behind her, slightly rubbing his body across her back as he moved from one side to the other. She felt a tingle shoot up and down her spine as he did this. Why were his movements around her, making her body react like that? She just shook her head slightly and continued on with the spuds.

"Would you mind handing me the handheld mixer please? It's up in that cabinet there." She pointed to the door next to Jacob's shoulder. He reached in and handed the mixer to her as he watched what she was doing. "You could help me here and dinner might just get done a bit faster." She said as she pulled her lower lip in between her teeth while she looked at Jacob through slightly squinted eyes as if challenging him to refuse to help.

"What do you need me to do?"

"If you can get the milk and butter from the fridge, I'll get you set up to finish the potatoes so that I might just get the brown gravy started. And some veggies. What sounds good? Corn or peas?"

"I don't care Bella, food is food and it always tastes best when it is made by you."

"Suck up."

"Now why would you go and get all hurtful like that? I was giving you a compliment." Jake said as he closed the fridge door behind him after pulling out the desired ingredients.

"I've seen dogs with pickier appetites than you and your friends. You guys will eat just about anything." She grabbed a large mixing bowl, put the potatoes in it, splashed a small amount of milk over the spuds and then added a half stick of butter. She then handed the mixer to Jacob and instructed, "Start the mixer on slow so that you don't splatter the entire kitchen with the potatoes, please. Just work the mix until it is smooth."

"You don't like lumps? My mom's potatoes were usually lumpy. I like lumps." He tried to imitate Julia Childs with his voice.

"If you want lumps Julia, just don't mix it so smooth then. You are the master of the potatoes for the night, dear chef. They can be as lumpy or as smooth as you want. Can I please get back to the gravy and veggies?"

Jacob let out a quiet chuckle as he began to beat the spuds into submission.

After dinner was served and the dirty dishes were washed and put away, the two families spent a couple of hours in pleasant conversation about all sorts of topics. The only one that was not touched on yet was Jacob's road trip.

"Jake, would you mind helping me get Billy's room ready?" Charlie asked knowing that there would need to be furniture moved to accommodate Billy's chair. "Sure sure Charlie!"

Jake jumped up and followed Charlie down the hall leaving Bella and Billy in the living room.

"Would you like for me to freshen your cup of coffee Billy?" Bella asked. "No thank you Bella. I have had more than enough." He laughed. "Don't you worry. I haven't reached my limit on caffeine yet so I should be good!"

She let out a quick chuckle. "Billy, can I ask you something?"

"Of course my dear, anything." he stated with a slight wrinkle to his brow.

"Why is Jacob leaving? I mean, I know that the ranch could use a hand and all, I just am not sure why Jacob is doing this. I would guess that there are plenty of strong workers much closer to the ranch than La Push. So why Jacob?" Billy could hear the hurt in her voice even if she didn't mean for it to show.

"Sit next to me Bella." He asked as he held out his hand to her. She took his hand and then sat in the recliner that was next to where Billy's chair was positioned for the best flat screen viewing. "I know that things aren't the best between you and Jacob right now. He feels that a little separation might do the two of you a bit of good."

"Did he come up with that or did you?" She was almost angry with the thought.

"Bella, although Jacob is not an adult legally, his is a big boy and can make these types of decisions all on his own. Besides, what difference does it make? He would like to get to do some traveling, and he will be earning some good money so that he might actually make it to college. Us having to rely on scholarships and grants was a weight on his shoulders that he just didn't need. Please Bella, let him do this. For his own good. He may come back a changed man. He may come back as the same kid, shouldering more than he ever should have. The one thing that I know for sure Bella," he said as he squeezed her hand with both of his, "is his love for you will still be just as strong as ever."

She sucked in a gasp of air at that statement. Billy's words, while not confidence inspiring, were still more than she had hoped, but she did understand that Jake just needed some space to find himself. He really was carrying the world on his shoulders and she had a pang of guilt shoot through her with the knowledge that she was part of that burden. She swallowed hard and refused to let the tears that had formed to fall. She would let Jacob go on this road trip without making his departure any harder than it needed to be.

"Hey Dad!, time for your nighttime routine for bed!" Jake spouted cheerfully.

"Thanks for talking to me Billy." Bella said as she stood, leaned over and gave Billy a kiss on the cheek and a gentle hug. He returned the hug and then gave her a wink as Jacob started pushing his chair towards the small room that he and Charlie prepped for him to stay in.

Once Billy was settled into his bed, Charlie took a shower and headed into his room for the night. Bella and Jacob sat at either end of the couch while watching the tv as the grownups went to bed.

"I don't mean to be a party pooper Bella, but I need to get to bed too 'cause I will be leaving really early." Jake stretched his arms and gave a big yawn. Bella got up and went to the linen closet to retrieve a pillow and a few blankets for Jake who was crashing on the couch for the night. No words were spoken between the two. She laid the blankets out, across the couch and then tossed the pillow into Jake's hands.

"I'm just going to go to bed as well then." She pointed at the stairs with her thumb, not ever really looking Jake in the eyes directly. "Good night then." She said.

"Good night Bells. See you in the morning?"

"Yeah... of course." she hesitated some.

Jake got comfortable on the couch, or at least as comfortable as he could while Bella laid in bed staring at the ceiling. She had a million things swarming through her head and that made it very difficult for her to sleep. After an hour or so had past, she decided to quietly tip toe down to Jacob and ask him directly why he was leaving. It was not beneath her to beg him to stay if need be. When she arrived by Jake's side, he was sound asleep, snoring lightly. She just looked into his sweet face, gently running her fingers along the hairline of his temple down to his strong jaw. She quietly kissed her fingers and placed them, ever so softly to his lips. She didn't want to go to bed right away so she tip toed back upstairs to fetch her pillow and comforter so that she could lay on the floor next to Jacob.

As she set up her sleeping spot she wondered what this feeling of dread was that was coming over her. She just couldn't shake the feeling that Jacob should not be going on this trip. He was her rock. That much she recognized from the last few days worth of activities. He was the one that she counted on to pick her up when she was down and now he was leaving. What would she do while he was gone? How would she cope?

Just before she felt sleep take hold of her, she heard Jake roll onto his side causing his hand to hang over the edge of the couch. She eased her fingers in between his with the back of her hand in the palm of his. She set their joined hands onto her belly and she quickly drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

That Summer

Chapter Four

Callin' women the weaker sex makes about as much sense as callin' men the stronger one.

Jacob's cell phone alarm went off with one of his favorite downloaded songs, "She's a Maneater". He was slowly pulled out of his deep sleep by the sound of his alarm only to realize that he could feel his hand touching skin that was not his. His eyes popped open quickly at this discovery. Who could he be touching? Last he remembered, he fell asleep on the Swan's couch by himself. He rolled his head over the edge of the couch just enough to see that Bella was on the floor just below him and his hand was under her tank top. His eyes took in the sight of his hand just under Bella's breast. Whispering under his breath, "How the hell did that happen?"

Bella started to stir from the alarm. Jacob quickly reached for his phone with his other hand and poked the dismiss button as quickly as he could because he didn't want her to wake yet and freak out that he had his hand up her shirt. Well, that and this is the closest he has ever gotten to making out with Bella. He sensed a dilemma coming on.

Jacob wasn't sure what to do. Could he get away with a quick squeeze? Would Bella feel it if she is really asleep? Should he just remove his hand and be the gentleman that his dad raised him to be? She would never know, if he was gentle, right? His dad would be so disappointed at him for taking advantage, right? The forces that be are the reason his hand is there in the first place so this is an opportunity to further their relationship, right? It's a sign, right?

"Ugh!" Jacob said soft enough not to wake Bella. He settled on gently squeezing his hand on her rib cage a time or two before he pulled his hand out from under the tank top. As he was retracting his hand, Bella rolled over to her side causing his hand to bump into her hip. Even as light as it was, she opened her eyes at the feeling of being touched. She jumped with a start and a gasp which caused Jacob to jump up off of the couch and stand there with a nervous look on his face.

"What was that? I felt something touch my side!" Bella exclaimed, looking around trying to clear her vision from just waking up.

"You were being touched?" Jacob asked, knowing full well what had happened. He scratched at his skull with both hands and let out a yawn to show that he had just awoke as well.

"I don't know. I could have sworn that I felt something warm run across my side. Kinda down here around my hip." She ran her hand over her hip in the exact place that Jake's hand had accidentally bumped. "Maybe I was dreaming." She rested her head in her hands for a moment before she ran her fingers into the hair on either side of her head and slowly massaged with a stroke or two, trying to rid the cobwebs of sleep from her mind.

"Are you leaving already?" She asked worriedly, still rubbing her head.

"Nah. I just got up myself. You kind of scared the crap out of me there."

"Oh, I'm sorry Jacob." She said in a tone heavy with guilt. She looked into Jacob's eyes to convey the truth in her statement. She only looked into his eyes for a moment or two before she was distracted by the tent that was Jacob's boxers.

"It wasn't anything you did Bells. I had my alarm set and it went off. I am sorry if it woke you up though. I didn't know that you were going to be ... umm... so close." He had started looking everywhere except at her directly, totally unaware of his situation at the moment.

"Well I didn't really... um, plan on... sleeping here either..." She could not take her eyes off of his crotch. "It just kind of happened."

He looked down at her because he was going to apologize for the way that he found his hand when he woke only to realize that she was staring at his morning wood. He quickly grabbed a pillow from the couch and covered up. He stammered, "I-I think I n-need to jump in-into the shower." The blush was so strong he could compete with the flashing lights on a school bus. He turned and ran up the stairs three at a time.

Bella was blushing as well. She realized that she had never really thought of Jacob as a sexual being before. That he had wants, needs, and yearnings just like she did. She tried to burn the image of how innocent Jacob looked, yet not so much, into her memory. His bed head hair, his eyes still soft from sleep, his naked torso, his boxer covered midsection and his... manhood trying to express itself. "Seems that Jacob isn't so little anymore." She said to herself, causing her to blush even redder.

While Jacob let the steaming hot water run over his body, all he could think about was Bella's beautiful chocolate brown eyes staring at his woody. A girl has never seen him like that before. He was not sure if he handled that situation correctly by running, but what else was there for him to do? After he lathered in the shampoo and soaped up his body, he began to stroke himself. The excitement of what happened downstairs still had his adrenaline levels high, keeping him stiff as a board. He kept thinking about his hand under her shirt and Bella's eyes. The feel of her skin in his hand. Was that lust in her eyes? Just before he was ready to release, he slowly turned into the hot water to amplify the heat to his very sensitive member. A couple more strokes and he was spouting like a fountain. "Ohhh Bella." He moaned as his orgasm hit him full force. After a few moments to regain clarity, he rinsed off all the shampoo and soap, turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist. He stepped out of the shower to realize that, while he had his bathroom bag with him, his clothes were still in the suitcase downstairs. "Great." He grumbled.

Bella had gone to her room and changed into an old comfortable pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt. She pulled her hair into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck after combing out the night time muss. She could hear Jacob bumping around in the bathroom and wondered why he was so noisy. As she started to head downstairs to begin breakfast, she was stopped in the hallway when Jake poked his head out of the bathroom door. "Bells, would you mind bringing me my suitcase? Please?"

"Where is it Jake?"

"I think I left it by the front door. Thanks."

"No problem. Give me a minute." "Ok." Jake held the door just ajar so that he could see her go down the stairs and make the corner towards the front door. He heard her grunt with the difficulty she was having with picking up the case. After what seemed to be hours but in reality was only a couple of minutes, Jake opened the door and bound down the steps to grab the case out of Bella's hands. He realized that it was quite heavy and that she wouldn't be able to haul it up the stairs. At least not before he turned 50, he chuckled at his own inside joke.

"Sorry Bells. I forgot how heavy it was. My bad!"

She huffed a sigh that was mixed with relief and anger. "I'll get some pancakes started."

"Yum! I like your pancakes. I'll be down after I get dressed." "Sure sure." She replied. "Hey, that's my line!" Jake gave her a crooked smirk as he closed the bathroom door behind him. "Yes, yes it is." She snickered.

The smell of fresh brewed coffee and cooked bacon had the whole house up and ready for the day. After eating several stacks of pancakes, Jacob was ready to hit the road. He double checked all of Billy's meds and supplies to make sure that there was enough to get by. Charlie reassured him that Billy was in the best of hands and that there was nothing to worry about.

"Jacob, I need you to stop by the station on your way out of town. I have a few documents that you will need and I left them at my desk." Charlie looked at him with knowing eyes. Jacob was getting cold feet. "I'm going to head down there now. Tami should be in by now and I need her to notarize one of the documents. See you in a few." Charlie smiled at Jacob as he grabbed his gun belt and headed out the door.

Jacob stood there in the doorway looking at Billy and Bella. Bella had taken to standing beside Billy with her arm draped over his shoulder as a sign to Jake that she will take good care of him while Jake is gone.

"I guess I should be hittin' the road." There was trepidation in his voice.

"Yes Son. Promise me that you will drive safely and that you will call us to let us know that you made it to the ranch." "I will. I promise." Jake said as he leaned down and gave his dad a hug. Billy gave Jacob a quick peck on the cheek. He thought to himself, _"I don't care how old Jacob is, he is still my little boy."_ Then he spoke, "I know that you will make us all proud Jacob. I love you, my boy." The last part was slightly broken.

"I love you too Dad." Jacob gave Billy one more hug. Perhaps a bit tighter than the last one.

Jake stood up straight and looked at Bella. Without saying a word, they both stepped into each other and embraced as if they were never to see each other again. Neither one wanted to be the first to pull back so they stood there, holding each other for several minutes. Billy cleared his throat. "Ahem." They continued to hold each other. "AHEM." Billy coughed louder. Jake backed out of the hug at that point. His hands slowly running down Bella's arms until he was holding her hands. They both stood there staring into each other's eyes, not saying a word. Jake let go of her hands, turned to pick up his suitcase and walked out of the door towards his car. He tossed the suitcase into the back seat, folded himself into the driver's seat, started the car, waved to Billy and Bella and then drove off to the Forks Police station to get whatever paperwork Charlie said that he needed.

A silent tear fell down Bella's cheek as she watched Jacob's car drive away. Billy took her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. He released it and then turned his chair into the house and said, "So what's on tv that's worth watching at this time of day?" Bella sniffled and turned into the house, closing the front door behind her. She said, "Well, Charlie said that you like to watch soap operas but those don't come on until later in the afternoon. I could put some game shows on if you like."

"He what?" Billy stated in a matter of fact voice. His mind was already working on a way to get even with Charlie. "Why don't we just call Charlie and see if he wants to come on down and watch those soap operas with me."

~~~oooOOOooo~~~

Jacob pulled up to the police station. He sat in the car for a few moments wondering if this really was the right thing to do. The look on Bella's face was almost shattering his confidence. He took a few deep breaths and stepped out of the car, headed up the stairs and opened the door to the station.

"Hello young man. How may I help you?" Said the receptionist from behind the counter.

"I'm here to see Chief Swan, ma'am."

"Oh! Please don't call me ma'am! Makes me feel old!" Tami laughed. "You can call me Tami. That's what the name badge says anyways!" She was such a happy person, even Jacob couldn't help but to smile. "I have told the Chief many times that we don't need no stinking badges, but he insists that we wear them." Her smile grew even larger and she chuckled some.

"Yes ma'a...errr... Tami. Charlie...errr..Chief Swan asked me to come down here to pick up some paperwork that he said that I would need."

"OOHHH GOODNESS! You must be Jacob Black from La Push! Chief and I went over those papers just a little while ago. I think everything is in order. So, you're going on a road trip huh? How exciting! Come on back Sugar, the Chief is at his desk. We don't want to delay this trip any more than we have to now do we?" Jacob wasn't sure why she was so excited for him to be taking a road trip. Perhaps she was just a naturally sunny kind of person anyways. He thought to himself, "The world needs more people like her."

Tami pressed the button that released the lock on the counter so that Jacob could walk to the offices in back. "His office is at the end of the hall Sug. Good luck Jacob. Safe travels." Her enthusiasm had reignited Jacob's need for this trip. He wanted to be happy, just like Tami. She turned back to her computer and continued typing the reports that where left for her to do, humming to herself while she did this.

"Hey Chief." Jacob greeted as he entered Charlie's office. "Jacob! Glad that you made it. I was a little nervous that you were going to chicken out there for a moment or so."

"Heh, yeah. I think I almost did. This is turning out to be harder than I thought Charlie."

"Jacob. No one is going to make you do this if you really don't want to do it. This has to be something that you and you alone must decide. Your dad and I both thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge base...aaannnddd to get away from Bella for a little while." "But Charlie...", "Let me finish Jake. I know that you care for Bella. Even a blind person could see the devotion that you have in your eyes. She, however, does not see it. Perhaps you two are a little too close of friends. Do you know what I mean? She's not seeing the forest for the trees."

"I guess I never thought of it that way."

"Just take the trip. Learn what it takes to work a ranch. Meet other kids your own age. Come the end of August, you will be back here to finish school. You'll be a senior this year right?"

"Yeah. Can you believe it?"

"Not really. I didn't think that I was old enough to have a daughter graduating last year, yet, here I am. You have grown into a fine young man Jacob. Time to take a little time for yourself. You have been working so hard caring for everyone else, especially your dad, that you are forgetting to be a teenager. Take these," as he hands Jacob a folder containing a few pieces of paper, "and go to Colorado. You never know. You might even meet the girl who will truly capture your heart and will 'see' you back."

"That's not going to happen Charlie."

"Yeah, well, I learned a long time ago to never say never. Anyways, that folder contains the forms that the La Push school district require, as well as for the federal education program so that you and Lynn get paid for your education. She gets a stipend to cover your room and board expenses as well as food. Although with your appetite, she might have to apply for more." Charlie laughed. "There is also proof of health insurance, just in case there is a need, a map with directions to get to the ranch from here, oh and this..." Charlie shoved his hand in his pocket and handed Jacob a brand new cell phone.

"What's this for?" Jacob asked. "I already have a cell phone."

"I know you do Jacob. This one has unlimited coverage and texting. Your phone only has local coverage and we can't have you traveling cross country and not have a way to call for help if you need, now can we?" Charlie smirked. "I also thought that this would help you stay in contact with Bella when you want to talk to her. I don't want to saddle Lynn with the long distance phone bills just in case you two can't control the talking urge. I already entered Bella's cell, my cell and the house numbers into it soooo... you should be set." Charlie said trying to think of anything that he might have over looked.

"One more thing Jacob, there is a notarized letter signed by Billy and myself, on Forks PD letterhead stating that even though you are 17, you have permission to travel cross country. I know that some motels and hotels can be a bit strict with minors renting rooms. If there is any trouble at all, have them contact me directly. I will set them straight."

"Thanks Charlie. I don't know what I would do without your help." Jacob reached out and shook Charlie's hand with gusto.

"Your contact at the ranch will be Lynn Rhodes. She was my cousin's wife. Her name and number are written down on the top of the map in your folder. Now, don't you think that you have wasted enough precious time chatting when you should be driving?" Charlie gave Jake a smile.

"Guess it's time to hit the road." Jacob said and then cleared his throat of the small lump that was trying to form there.

Charlie walked Jacob out to his car with an arm over Jake's shoulder, just like he did the first night they talked about this whole trip. "Bye Jacob Black!" Tami called over her shoulder as they walked by. "It was my pleasure to meet you, young man. I hope to again, real soon!" She was so cheery. "Bye Tami! Nice to meet you too!" Jacob once again began to smile after Tami's injection of sunshine.

Jacob slid into the driver's seat once again and looked up at Charlie as he pulled the door closed. As Jake rolled the window down, Charlie said, "Don't hesitate to call for anything Jake. We aren't throwing you out to the wolves. We are just letting you stretch your wings a little."

With that, Jacob thanked Charlie again, waved at him as he headed south out of Forks and then cranked up his stereo as the wind came whipping in the windows as he drove down the open roads. After about an hour on the road it struck Jacob that he should take a look at the map to make sure he was taking the correct roads. He pulled into a filling station, topped off his tank, took a leak in one of the filthiest restrooms he had ever seen, bought some snacks and drinks for the road, pulled the map out of the folder that Charlie had given him, studied it for a few moments and then drove back onto the highway that led to Colorado.

After 12 hours of driving with only 3 stops to refill the gas tank and to use the restrooms with the occasional purchase of more snack food, Jacob made it into Ogden, Utah. With very droopy eyelids, he noticed a Microtel sign from the road and decided to pull in and call it a night. As he entered the lobby, he noticed that the night clerk was an older man that seemed preoccupied with something on the computer. Jacob walked up to the counter and rested an arm on it and spoke first.

"Hey there. Are there any rooms left for the night?"

"Well hey there to you too. Welcome to Microtel. Give me just a moment please while I get to the right screen to see what we have available." Jacob could hear the clickity clickity clicks that the clerk's keypad made as he brought up the screen that showed the available rooms. "Well sir, it looks like we still have a couple rooms available. Are you by yourself or is there any one else with you?"

Jacob chuckled to himself, _"He called me sir."_ After the question registered in Jacob's sleep weary mind, he responded, "No sir, just me."

"Ok then... let's see. We have a room with two queen sized beds for $80.00 or a room with one King sized bed for $85.00. Which would you like?"

Jacob thought for a moment and said, "What the hell, I'll take the room with the king. I've never slept on a king sized bed before. Might be a real treat!"

"Yes sir. How do you intend to pay for this?"

"I have cash." This comment made the clerk's eyebrow quirk up just a bit. "Ok son, I just need you to fill out this form and I need your driver's license please."

As Jacob dug in the pocket on the back of his shorts for his wallet, the clerk prepped the key card for the room. Jacob pulled his license out and then filled in his name, address and his vehicle information on the form that had been handed to him. The clerk made a copy of the license and handed the card back to Jacob. "Your license says that you are only 17!" The clerk said in a surprised tone.

"Yes sir. I'm traveling to Colorado to help out a family friend. I have permission to do this." Jacob informed, sure that the clerk was going to be a jerk about this. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with someone being an ass right now. All he wanted to do was sleep.

"To be honest kid, I shouldn't give you a room, being that you are a minor and all. I mean, how do I know that you aren't a runaway or a wanted criminal or something?"

"I actually have a signed document giving me permission to be on this trip. Would you like for me to get it?" Jake was beginning to get angry. His body ached from being in a sitting position all day and from lack of sleep.

"Nah. I'll let it go tonight since I have other things to worry about than if you are a runaway or not." The clerk handed Jacob the room key and instructed, " Your room is on the second floor at the end of the hallway. You can use the elevator over there," he pointed, "or the steps that are midway down the hall. There is a complimentary breakfast available, here in the lobby, from 6 to 9:30 am. Just hand the room key in when you check out. Thanks Mr. Black. Have a good night."

Jacob took the key card and stiffly turned to head back out the door to retrieve his luggage from the car. He went up to his room and poked the card into the door lock. The little light turned green, indicating that the door was ready to open. He pushed the handle down, opened the door, stumbled a little as he entered the room with the door closing behind him, flicked on the light so that he could see where he was headed, and dropped his suitcase on the floor next to the bathroom door. He took a moment to scan the room to familiarize himself with it. He then kicked off his shoes, padded into the bathroom for a quick piss, then he took a few more steps toward the bed, flicking the lights off on his way and fell face first onto the biggest bed that he had ever slept in. The sandman took him quickly.

He woke the next morning with an appetite that would choke a horse. He was so exhausted from getting up earlier than he usually would the day before, that he never ate any real dinner. He had subsisted on chips, crackers, beef jerky, soda and water all day yesterday. He made a mental note to do better today.

After the alarm on his phone was turned off, he rolled over and stretched while he was still lying on the bed. "Damn. I'm going to have to get one of these." He said out loud to himself.

He got up and went into the bathroom for his morning whiz and shower. He then went down to the lobby for his complimentary breakfast. To him, it looked like manna from heaven. He had fresh cooked waffles, two bowls of cereal, a toasted bagel, a couple of bananas, a yogurt, two glasses of juice and a cup of coffee. He then took a napkin and wrapped up a few muffins and popped a couple apples into his pockets.

He returned to his room to finish cleaning up, get packed, and get back on the road. He brushed his teeth and applied some deodorant. He ran his hands through his hair to give it that tussled look. He looked at himself in the mirror, again questioning if this really was a bright idea. He gave himself a moment to ponder before he winked at himself and smiled one of the brightest smiles that he has worn in quite a while.

He handed the morning clerk his room card. She typed on the keyboard for a moment and then asked, "How was your stay Mr. Black?"

"That was one of the best night's sleep that I have had in a long time." He replied with his bright smile still adorning his face. He handed her a $100.00 bill to cover the charges. The clerk handed him his change. When her hand touched his, she blushed. He noticed the rosy color to her cheeks. He could not help himself. He gave her a slow wink as he picked up his suitcase and headed out the door. She just about fainted. He smirked at his own flirting. He had never really done that before. It gave him a strange sense of power. He could get used to that feeling.

Another 10 hours logged on his backside had him pulling into The Swan Cattle Ranch in the little mountain town of Buffalo Creek, Colorado. It was late afternoon when he parked in front of the house. As he stepped out of his car and gave a big stretch to help straighten his back, out of the house ran a pair of dogs, barking at his arrival. One was very obviously old while the other was still a young pup. Jacob turned and faced the dogs, very glad that there was a fence around the yard that separated them from him. He was looking at them and quite hesitantly he says, "Hey puppies. How ya doing? I don't have any treats. Sorry."

"Gimpy! Angus!" The names were called from inside the house. "Gimpy. And. Angus!" This time the voice was more stern. The older dog stopped his barking but the pup kept sounding off.

Out of the house walked a woman with an expression on her face that showed her displeasure at the pup ignoring her command. "Angus MacGruber! Come here right now!" The pup tucked his tail between his legs and trotted back behind the woman who was now standing at the gate. He was still growling and had his hackles up. "I'm sorry for that." She said in an apologetic tone. "I want them to let me know when someone comes on the ranch, but Angus just hasn't learned when to stop yet. He's not quite a year old. He still has a lot to learn." She said with a kindly smile.

"I'm looking for Lynn Rhodes." Jacob said, now more relaxed that the dogs were under control.

"You must be Jacob Black. You made some pretty good time getting here from Washington. You must be hungry and tired from your long drive." She opened the gate and gestured for Jacob to come in. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Lynn. The owner, operator, manager, hired hand, barn help... you name it, that's me. Now let's get you settled in and fed." She offered her hand in greeting. Jacob took her hand in his and gave it a firm but kind shake.


	5. Chapter 5

That Summer

Chapter five

Once you know where you're goin', just climb in the saddle and stay on the trail 'til you get there.

Jacob was looking around his room. It was slightly larger than his room back in La Push. The room definitely had a country feel to it. The curtains that framed the window were made of a lace material. The base of the lamp on the nightstand had steel cutouts of horses performing various maneuvers. The bedspread had a southwestern native pattern on it, in shades of mauve, tan, turquoise and purple. The furniture was made out of an unfinished pine that had knots running throughout. Jacob ran his hand over the wood, admiring the natural beauty of the grain. His dad had taught him well, the art of carving, so he always took a moment to acknowledge fine workmanship. He took a closer look at the wooden frame surrounding the mirror on the dresser. He noticed that there was scroll work started but not finished. He could see the faint pencil lines that indicated the pattern in which the rest was to be carved. He ran his fingers over the unfinished part and wondered why it had been left undone.

He unpacked his clothes and put his toiletries in his own bathroom. "Wow! My own bathroom. I don't have to share with anybody." He wasn't sure how to handle these small gifts to his mental health. He did however, realize that this was just a temporary situation and he would be all too soon back in La Push, sharing space with his dad again. "I need to enjoy this while it lasts!" He thought out loud.

"Hey Jacob?" Lynn called, standing at the base of the stairs.

"Yeah?" He said as he walked out of his room and started down the stairs towards Lynn.

"Have you called your dad yet to let him know that you made it safe and sound?"

"Just getting ready to do that." He answered with a smile.

"Good. I'm going to get some dinner started. Once we're done eating, there are a few chores that need to be done before we call it a night."

"We have chores _after _we eat?"

"The animals can't feed themselves. Welcome to the country life, Jacob. You're not in La Push anymore." Lynn said with an evil smirk on her face to intentionally make Jake nervous. She knew that this wasn't going to be a piece of cake for him, no matter how big and strong he was. He was in for quite a culture shock for sure. She turned and started towards the kitchen. "Now, call your dad."

"Yes Ma'am." That comment stopped her dead in her tracks. "Don't do that again." Her voice almost had a growl to it. "You can call me Lynn. Ok?"

"Ok." Jacob wondered why was he getting his head bit off every time he tried to be polite to the women that he met. Something about the word ma'am he figured. He took his new cell phone out to the front porch and dialed the Swan's house. Bee doop was what he heard. He figured that he hit a button wrong so he tried again. Bee doop. "Hey Lynn, my cell doesn't seem to be working right." He said as he came back into the house. "I can't seem to get through to Dad."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that cell phones don't work so well here on the ranch. We have several mountains that surround the house and they seem to block the cell towers. Just use my phone. I know it's an old fashioned way to communicate, but it's all we have here in the middle of nowhere." She said with a genuine lilt to her voice. She was just glad to have someone to talk to besides the dogs.

"Thanks Lynn. I will make good on the bills so that you don't have to." Jake offered.

"No worries." She said as she got the water for the pasta started and the ground beef scrambling. She went to her pantry and pulled out a jar of Prego to add to the beef once it was done browning.

She then sat down at the dining table that was covered in all sorts of papers and office equipment, huffed out a sigh and began to clear a space big enough for her to serve dinner on.

Jacob took the cordless phone from it's cradle and dialed the Swan's home number once again. This time he heard the phone ring. And ring. And ring. After eight rings the answering machine came on with a, "Hey there! You've reached the Swan household. We must be out if you are getting this message. Just leave a message of your own and we will return your call as soon as we can!" Beeeeeep. All sorts of questions popped into his head as he was listening to the message that was being played in his ear. Where was everyone? Was everything ok at home? Didn't they expect his call to come today? If so, why didn't they wait for it? He just left a quick message after the tone. "Hey, where is everyone? I made it to the ranch finally. I wanted to let you know that I was safe and sound. I'll call again later. Bye." He placed the phone back on it's base.

"Hey Lynn?"

"Yes Jacob?" She responded from the dining table as she finished clearing some room.

"What's with all the pictures of these kids with cows?" He asked as he walked into the room just off the dining area. There was a wall covered in years of photos of prized cattle. He studied several of the framed photos, looking at the kids in the pictures as well as the cattle. "Oh, those are photos of cattle that we sold to the kids that are pictured there. They raised the calves so that they could compete in different stock type shows, you know, county or state fairs, that kind of thing. Anyways, these all have won champion or reserve champion of the show." She had a very proud look on her face as she scanned the wall. She knew that the Swan Ranch raised some of the highest quality beef in all of Colorado. The photos proved it.

"The cattle were more Topher's thing than mine. My contribution to the ranch is the horse program. We have a wall of those too." She said with a kind smile as she pointed to the wall directly across from the one Jacob was standing in front of. She headed off into the kitchen to give the hamburger a stir or two while he turned and walked to the other side of the room and scanned the photos of horses competing in several events. Most looked like rodeo events. Some didn't. He made a mental note to ask her about it later. He could smell the beef cooking and his stomach growled.

"That smells good!"

"Well thanks I guess. It's just the hamburger. I haven't even added the sauce yet. I was warned that you had a big appetite. Guess Charlie wasn't joking!" Lynn said with a laugh in her voice. "Do you want to help with dinner?"

"Um, sure. What can I do?" Jacob offered. "Hows 'bout you get the bag of salad greens out of the fridge and pour some into a serving bowl? Then grab whatever salad dressing you like from the fridge door. There are several to pick from." She said while she added the sauce to the pot with the beef properly browned and drained. Jacob pulled the pre-made salad fixin's and the ranch dressing from the fridge and set them on the counter. He started opening the cupboards looking for a bowl. He found one in the first cupboard that he opened. "Would you mind getting another bowl for the pasta as well?" Jacob reached in and withdrew two large mixing bowls.

Lynn drained the pasta and poured it into the bowl Jacob had handed to her. They both grabbed bowls and plates and placed them on the table. Jacob returned to the kitchen to get something to drink. "What'cha got to drink here?"

"There should be some sun tea, juice or milk in the fridge in there or I think I still have some soda, sport drink, beer or bottled water in the fridge in the barn across the way." She looked at Jacob directly in the eye, "And beer isn't an option for you." She had that same devilish smirk on her face as she did before. "I'm not going to jail for serving alcohol to minor."

Jacob poured himself a glass of the tea. "Hey, what do you want to drink?"

"I'll just have a glass of water for now. Thanks for asking though." Lynn was taken aback, breathless for a moment. It had been quite awhile since anyone had asked her what she wanted. She wasn't used to such simple politeness. The hired hands on the ranch tended to be a little rough 'round the edges. She liked the feeling of being treated like a person of respect, unlike being treated like one of the guys. She chuckled to herself.

Jacob carried in and set down both beverage glasses and then plunked his butt into the chair at the head of the table while Lynn sat at the side. He grabbed the bowl with the noodles and scooped about half of them onto his plate. He then ladled an ample amount of the meat sauce over the noodles. Lynn was using tongs to take a serving of salad for herself as she watched Jacob fill his plate. She found herself just staring at the sight. She had never seen anyone so eager to eat her cooking before. Once she snapped herself out of her stare, she offered the bowl of salad to Jacob. "Would you like some salad to go with that?"

"I didn't leave any room on my plate. I can get some after I'm done though." He said with a mouth full of spaghetti noodles.

"You can just use the bowl if you like. I already took what I'll have." He looked at the bowl for a moment and then took it out of her hands and placed it beside his plate. While he was chewing on his spaghetti, he reached for the ranch dressing and squeezed almost half a bottle on the greens. "Do you have any bread?" He asked.

"Damn it! I forgot the garlic bread." She jumped up from the table, headed for the freezer. "Give me twenty minutes. I'll have this done in a jiffy."

Jacob reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, gently but firmly, stopping her in her tracks. He chewed his food a few more times, swallowed, took a sip of his tea to clear his throat and said, "Don't worry about it. Do you have just plain bread and some butter?"

"I think I do." Lynn replied as she felt the warmth of Jacob's hand on her arm. "You're going to have to let me go so I can look though." Her eyes went from Jacob's to her arm and back to his eyes again.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to be bossy or anything." Jacob had a nervous tone. He let his grip on Lynn's arm release. "I didn't hurt you did I?" He was worried that he had gone too far.

She continued into the kitchen to retrieve the loaf of bread and the tub of margarine. "No Jacob. You didn't hurt me. Although I will say that I haven't been pawed like that in a long time. I wasn't sure if I should have punched you in the nose or thanked you!" She laughed in a joking way.

"Yeah, heh heh. I think a punch in the nose was in order there."

"Nah. No harm done. I actually think that it's nice that someone likes my cooking enough to ask for more. I've only cooked for myself for the last coupl'a years. I'm not exactly picky about my food so fancy cooking is not what you will get here. I hope that that isn't what you expect from me."

"Are you kiddin'? I don't need fancy. All I need is edible. See how simple I am to please?" Jacob retorted with another mouth full of food. He gave Lynn a messy smile. She smiled back with a warmth that she hadn't realized that she felt come over her. _How does this kid bring out these emotions and feelings in me? For God's sake, we just met!_ She wondered to herself as she studied Jacob's face as he devoured his dinner.

They finished their meal in relative silence. The only sounds to be heard were the sounds of eating. Food being chewed, silverware clanking with the plate, sips from their drinks. One thing that Jake didn't know what to do about, was that the pup that would not stop barking at him earlier, was sitting on the opposite side of him from where Lynn was sitting. He was staring at Jake's hand that held the fork with the food on it. The pup stared intently at the utensil as it moved from the plate to Jake's mouth, over and over again. He did not bark or whine. He just sat there, watching. And drooling.

Once Lynn was done eating, she stood up and began to gather the dirty dishes. Jacob was swirling a slice of buttered bread across his plate, trying to sop up the last of the sauce. Lynn plugged the sink and began filling it with warm water and dish soap. She set the dirty plates, cups and utensils in the sink first to soak. Jacob looked around to see if Lynn could see what he was about to do. He took another slice of bread from the loaf and tore a piece off of it and handed it to Angus. The dog snapped it out of his fingers in a blink of an eye causing Jake to pull his hand back quickly, checking to see if he had been bitten or not. After he had ascertained that all of his fingers were where they belonged and still functioned properly, he tore off another piece and gently lobbed it at the dog. This time Angus watched it as it flew by his head and landed on the floor. He gobbled that piece just as quickly as the first. Jacob then tossed the last piece directly at the pup's head. The dog caught the treat in mid air. "Good catch there you silly dog." Jacob smiled at the pup, hoping that maybe he just made a friend out of the pup that did not like him.

Jacob carried his plates as well as some of the serving bowls into the kitchen. "I can help you wash if you like." He offered.

"That would be wonderful! After we get done here, we will head on out to feed. I usually feed the animals first, before I eat, but I knew that you were just coming off a long road trip and more than likely needed some real food in your system so I put off feeding them like usual. I bet they are getting pretty angry and hungry about now."

"I didn't mean to mess with your routine Lynn." Jacob said as he began drying the clean dishes he was being handed.

"You didn't Jake. May I call you Jake?" She snorted to herself. "Guess I should have asked that earlier." She handed him the glasses for drying.

"Jake is fine by me! That's what I go by at home mostly. CRAP! I need to try to call home again!" Jacob blurted, startling Lynn for a moment.

"You didn't speak to them earlier?"

"Nah, just the answering machine. They must have been out."

"Ok. That happens some times. Why don't you try after we feed. It has only been about half an hour since you tried. We will give them a little more time to get home."

"Sounds good to me." Jacob began putting the clean dishes away after Lynn instructed where they all belonged. Lynn went into the small mudroom, an enclosed part of the back porch really, and pulled two sets of keys off of the key holder on the wall. She returned as Jacob was using the sponge to wipe down the kitchen counter. Once he was done, she tossed him one of the keys. It hit him right in the center of his broad chest. He caught the key, studied it for a moment and asked, "What does this go too? I've never seen a key like this before."

"Do you know how to operate an ATV?"

"I've ridden motorcycles before but not ATVs."

"Pretty much the same concept. Only you have four wheels on the ground instead of two. Shift gears with your foot. Operate the gas and brakes with your hands. Would you feel more comfortable wearing a helmet?" She asked, honestly wondering.

"How fast are we going to be going on these things?"

"Not that fast at all Jake. We will be towing trailers filled with hay. Can't go to fast with that kind of load. Just so you know, I am breaking all kinds of rules letting you on that machine without a safety course first. Topher used to take care of all of that. I'm just not that well versed in how to do that properly so I am taking a big chance and letting you do this without the training. Are you going to let me down Jake? Am I making a mistake?"

"No Lynn, you're not making a mistake. I may not know how to run a ranch yet, but I do learn quickly and I am a hard worker. I will try my best not to let you down. I promise." Jake hesitated for a moment or so. "I won't need a helmet. I don't wear one when I'm at home so I should be just fine here."

"Hmph." She snorted. "All right then. I gave you the key to Spider. I'll be taking Grip. Follow me out to the shed where they are parked and we can get this day over with."

"Spider? Grip? What's that all about?" Jacob was befuddled.

"Oh. Heh, yeah. You'll find that I have names for most of the equipment here because some of the students that come through can't tell a Chevy from a Ford. By assigning names and putting those names on the vehicle and the key chain, all they had to do was match them up. It just made things simpler." Lynn was a little embarrassed by admitting to her naming fetish.

"Ok then. Spider it is." Jacob's eyebrows went up a little. Lynn whirled around and headed for the back door through the kitchen. She whistled, "FWEET. Gimpy. Angus. Time to load up!" Both dogs came running through the house. She held the door open so the dogs could go out and then she looked up at Jacob, "Ready to start your learnin' Jake?" She smiled.

"Yes Ma'... errrr, Lynn, I can't wait to get started." He wasn't sure if she caught that or not. The smile fell off of her face and there was a slight glare to her look. She just turned and headed out with Jacob following. Once outside in the cool, mountain evening, Jacob stopped mid-stride and took in a lungful of the thin mountain air. It felt crisp in his lungs and it smelled thick of pine and something he was not sure of. Was it from the animals? What he noticed the most was that the air lacked the familiar saltiness that he was used to back home.

The dogs seemed to be leading the way towards the quonset shed. Lynn pushed the sliding door over, walked in and flipped a switch that turned the lights on. Jake took a moment to look at his surroundings. There were huge pieces of farm equipment, trucks, trailers of different kinds. There was a long work bench filled with more kinds of tools than Jacob had ever seen before, just off to the left. There was a stack of tires to the right. So many different sizes. He was becoming overwhelmed with the thought of playing with all of these over-sized Tonka Toys. He had fallen into a mechanics sloppiest wet dream. The only thing missing was the naked woman posing on the hood of any of the trucks inside this shed.

Lynn noticed Jacob's hallelujah moment. She smiled to herself. To be able to watch the excitement in his eyes, to her, was a gift that she didn't even know that she could give. She walked over to where the four wheelers were parked. "Hey there. We need to get this done before I am old and grey!" She chortled. Jacob turned his head towards her and watched her feminine form step up on the foot rail of the four wheeler and swing her other leg over the machine to settle her well toned backside into the seat. For half a second, he pictured Lynn, nude across the hood of the Ford that was closest to him. He felt his dick twitch in his shorts. He let out a quiet groan. It was a good thing that her back was to him. He shook his head quickly for a brief moment. What was happening to him?

He cleared his throat and made a b-line straight to the other ATV parked by Lynn. He would not look her in the eye yet. He noticed the name Spider finely pinstriped onto the fuel tank. He put the key in the ignition, turned it and pushed the starter button with his left thumb. He was trying his darnedest to concentrate on operating the ATV in hopes of taking his mind off of the fact that he just pictured his host naked. He started praying to the spirits that she didn't notice why he had become uncomfortable.

She fired up her ride and began backing out of the building. She shifted gears and went forward to where the hay trailers were fully loaded and waiting. She backed her ATV to the trailer and hitched them together, Jacob did the same thing. Now that he was away from the influence of the Tonka Toy kingdom, he started to relax and get his head into his work.

He followed her trailer down a bumpy path while the dogs trotted about both of the ATVs. They stopped at a gate. Lynn hopped off her ATV to unhook and set down the wire gate. They both drove through and stopped again. Jake jumped off his bike the same time Lynn did. They both met at the gate to close it behind them. "I've got it Jake." Lynn stated. "Just trying to help. That is what I'm here for isn't it?" Jake squeaked back. _Great! I sound like I'm going through puberty again! _ He cleared his throat once again.

"I guess I'm just not accustomed to having the help Jake. I'm sorry. I have to learn to delegate, don't I?" She let an awkward laugh escape.

"Yes you do!" His voice had returned to it's rich deep tone.

They continued on to the field that even in the darkening hours, Jake could tell there was no grass to graze on. Lynn put her ATV in park and walked over to Jacob. "I need you to drive slowly, in a straight line to the left there." She began to climb to the top of the stack. "When I holler, turn to the right and drive in a parallel line back to my ATV. Got it?"

"Sounds easy enough." As Jake drove on in as straight a line as he could, Lynn cut the twine that held the bales together. She started to toss off the hay in big chunks. Bale after bale, she began to empty the trailer. She called out to Jake to turn at the end of the field. He slowly turned the whole rig to the right. Lynn continued to toss hay. Jacob noticed the cattle coming up to the line of hay that was already strewn across the ground. They arrived back at the parked ATV as she dropped the last of the hay from Jake's trailer. "Now what?" He asked.

"We go back to the barn and feed the horses."

"I'll follow you! Lead on Boss!" Lynn stopped for the briefest of moments. She smirked to herself and then mounted the ATV, started it up and took off up the path that they had come in on.

When they got to the barn, Lynn pulled her trailer into the isle-way of the barn and drove it to the very end before she turned it off. Jacob had stopped outside of the barn. He jumped off the machine and walked into the barn. He noticed that the lights were on motion sensors. Lynn had started to pull off some of the hay bales from her stack. Jake jogged over to help. Before Lynn showed Jake how to handle the hay, she dug in the small utility box on the front of the ATV for some work gloves for Jake. She handed him a pair of leather gloves. "I hope those fit. Topher was a big man, but I'm not sure his hands where as big as yours." She looked with a dash of concern. "If they don't fit, we can go into town tomorrow and get a pair that does."

Jacob managed to squeeze his hands into the gloves. They were tighter than what was comfortable but he made due for the evening. "A size larger would be nice Lynn." He said sheepishly.

They fed the horses in the barn as well as those out in the paddocks. Lynn went over the feed cards on the stalls, pointing out the amount of grains and supplements that each individual horse was to receive. They finished up in no time and drove the four wheelers back to the quonset. The trailers were unhooked and the bikes were parked for the night. As they walked across the driveway back to the house, Lynn looked over to Jacob's Rabbit parked out front. "When you get a moment Jake, would you please move your car over to the shed row over there." She pointed to an open shelter to the side of the quonset. "There should be plenty of room in there next to my old truck Scarecrow. That's the one with the tarp covering it."

"Sure sure. I'll do that now while I'm thinking about it." He trotted off in the direction of his car.

"Thanks! That way there is plenty of room for the trailers coming through here tomorrow." Lynn and the dogs entered the house. She put a fresh pot of coffee on to brew. She then began to pull some of the papers from the stack she created when she cleared the table. She sat down and started to make entries in her log books and sort through her bills.

Jake had moved the car over to the shed row. When he got out, he looked over the truck that was covered in a tarp. Why was this one out here when there were at least three in the quonset? He tugged at the tarp in an effort to lift it some. He was able to flip it over, onto itself enough to see that it was an older Chevy. Not as old as Bella's. "Bella! I totally forgot!" He almost shouted. He replaced the tarp and ran back to the house causing the dogs to bark at him again.

"Gimpy and Gus Gus!" He heard from inside the house, just like earlier. This time, both dogs stopped.

"Hmm, I'm making progress." He chuckled to himself. As he walked into the house he proclaimed, "Gonna try to call home again."

"Good idea!" He heard come from the dining room. He continued on into the office and picked up the phone and dialed Forks one more time. This time Charlie answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Charlie. It's me, Jacob."

"Hey Jake! How's it going so far? Got your message from earlier. Didn't expect you to call again tonight." Charlie was truly happy to hear Jacob's voice.

"It's going fine I guess. All I've done so far is help feed some cows and a barn full of horses. Charlie, you should see the garage full of equipment they have here! I just about had an aneurysm when Lynn flicked the light on! Totally awesome!" Jacob's enthusiasm was not wasted on Charlie.

"Is that so? I suppose that you are going to go in there and get elbow deep in the grease and oil?"

"Would that be so bad Charlie? Maybe all Lynn needs is a really good mechanic. I can do that kind of work blindfolded. I think I might have died and gone to Heaven." Jake laughed and Charlie joined him. "Want to talk to your Dad, Jake?"

"If he's available Charlie. I promised him that I would call." Jake could hear Charlie cover the mouthpiece some as the words became muffled. "Hey Billy, want to talk to your son? You know, the one that ran away to Colorado." There was some more muffled words exchanged and some noise like the phone had been dropped. After a couple of seconds of silence, "Hello? Jacob?"

"Hey Dad!" The familiar voices made both father and son release some unneeded tensions from their respective bodies. "I see you made the trip with no troubles."

"Yeah. I got here a couple of hours ago. I called but no one was home there."

"We went out to dinner Jacob. Neither one of us wanted to cook, so it was Fork's Diner for us."

"Neither one of you? Where's Bella? She promised to look after you while I was gone." Jake was beginning to feel anger rise.

"Don't get mad at her son. She went with Quil and Embry to see about her truck. That hard headed friend of yours, Quil, is bound and determined to repair that truck. I think he just likes to hang out with Bella."

"DAD!"

"Calm down boy. I told him that the whole reservation will have eyes on him and Bella so he is to be nothing but gentlemanly or I would hear about it. Anyways, Embry is always with them as well. What kind of trouble can those two cause with Bella when there is always a third wheel?"

"You obviously don't know Quil and Embry as well as you think you do Dad. Do me a favor and tell them to just leave the truck alone. I'll look it over when I get back! So she's still with them, I presume?" Jake couldn't shake the bad feelings that began to crawl up his spine.

"I think so. They had to use Embry's truck to get around. I'm sure that she will be home anytime now. Do you want me to have her give you a call when she gets home?"

"That won't work so well Dad. There's no cell service here at the ranch. She would have to call the house phone and I don't want to wrack up Lynn's bill any more than I have to. We are going to go to town tomorrow. I can try to call then."

"Alright son. You have been gone for only two days and I already miss you something awful." Billy told truthfully. "I never thought that I would suffer from 'empty nest syndrome'. Ha ha ha. Just like some old mother hen."

Jacob felt the urge to cry come over him. He had never spent more than a night away from his dad for as long as he could remember. He couldn't explain the reason for that feeling, but he did his best to hold it in. "I miss you too Dad. I'll be home before you know it. Just think of all the hot chicks you can pick up on, now that you don't have your pesky kid hanging around." Jacob said, tongue in cheek.

"I never looked at it that way before! I wonder if Charlie is up to doing a little 'cruising the boulevard' later tonight?" Billy replied with a bit of devilish charm seeping through.

"Haa haa Dad. I'm feeling the love. Well, I should let you go. Don't want to run the bill sky high ya know."

"I hear you Jacob. You take care of yourself and give us a call the next time that you can, Ok?"

"I will Dad. I love you even if you are ready to kick me out for some hot, random chick." Jacob laughed with his dad. "Bye Dad." "Bye Jake. I love you too. Talk to you real soon." They both hung up at the same time.

Lynn had passively heard Jake's side of the conversation only because the office is so close to the dining area.

" Everything ok in there?" She asked softly.

"As good as they can be I guess."

"You're not convincing me Jacob. Can I ask what has you in this melancholy mood?"

Jacob let out a long, drawn out sigh. He had a thousand things rolling around in his brain, all at the same time. "I just thought that I would have the chance to talk to my friend is all. She wasn't home." Lynn had gotten up from the table and walked in the office, standing just a few feet from Jacob as he sat with one butt cheek on the edge of the desk.

"She wasn't home?" Lynn emphasized the 'she'.

"Yeah, Bella. Charlie's daughter. She was out with two of my other friends. I just don't know why she would be out with them." Jacob had a stern look of concern on his face, still suffering from the overactive mind.

"I am sure that there is no reason to fret Jacob. They are probably just hanging out together since you are not there to keep things fun. They are more than likely bored out of their skulls." Lynn sensed Jacob's distress. As she turned to go into the kitchen, she asked, "Would you like a fresh cup of coffee?"

"Huh, ahh, no thank you." Jacob snapped out of his funk. "I'll never get to sleep if I have coffee at this time of night."

"That's fine Jake. There is plenty if you want it. I have some more paperwork to get through. Why don't you go on upstairs to bed. 6 AM comes awful fast and mighty early around here." She gave Jake a quick wink before she left for the kitchen. Jacob could hear her take a coffee cup off of the cup tree that was sitting on the counter next to the coffee maker. He started to make his way up the steps towards his room when he turned and went back into the dining area where Lynn was just getting settled back into her seat to continue her with the paperwork. "Lynn? May I ask you a question without you getting angry?"

She made a slurping sound as she tried not to choke on the mouthful of coffee that she had. She swallowed the hot liquid. Took in a few ragged breaths as the coffee burned all the way down. "Hot!" She managed to choke out.

"Ah damn Lynn. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you or hurt you." Jacob said with guilt.

Cough, cough... "Not a problem Jake. You just startled me is all. What do you want to ask?" She cleared her throat a few times to try and soothe the scorch she still felt.

"Well, I was wondering. You keep mentioning Topher. Who is that?" Jacob's face reflected the honest interest in the question he just asked.

Lynn's chest began to feel like an elephant was sitting on it. She sat silent for a few moments.

"You don't have to answer Lynn. I wasn't trying to be nosey. I was just curious." Jake offered.

She placed her hand over her chest as if to hold her broken heart from falling out. "No Jake. I will answer your question. You just caught me off guard is all." She could feel the slight trembles begin in her hands. "He was my husband. He was the sole heir to this place. When he died, I made a vow that I would continue to run this ranch. I only hope that what I have done over the last two years would make him proud if he could come back today."

"Lynn. I didn't know. I mean, I knew you were widowed. Charlie told me. He just never told me his name. I don't mean to intrude. When you spoke of him, I could tell that you cared for him. Now I know why. I have no doubt that he would be proud of what you are doing with the ranch."

"I'm not so sure Jacob. He was the brains of the outfit. At least when it came to the financial part. The bank has been breathing down my neck since fall last year. Apparently there is more debt in this stack of papers," she waved her hand over the piles of papers on the table, "than he was willing to tell me. The bank is poised to foreclose on the ranch in 4 months if I don't come up with $250,000.00." All Jacob could do was stare at the papers that littered the table.

A tear silently fell out of Lynn's eye and ran down her cheek. She wiped it away before Jacob could see. "That's really a lot of money Lynn. Can you really pull that off?" He was truly worried about her.

"If everything falls into place, and I get the better prices for my cattle and horses in this market, I should be able to squeak by. If." Now it was her turn to have the look of deep concentration on her face.

Gently Jacob asked, "What happened to him? How did he die?"

Those questions caused Lynn's mind to race back to that day when her husband of just ten years forfeited his life to protect hers. The weight of the guilt on her heart was almost more than she could cope with. She would always blame herself for his death. The tightness started to pull on her chest. She had trouble breathing even though her breathing had increased in it's cadence. Her heart was pounding in her chest from dredging up these memories. Through broken breaths, she managed to answer, "I'll tell you what happened and then we won't talk about it again, deal?"

"Deal." Jacob reassured.


	6. Chapter 6

That Summer

Chapter 6

Everything is better shared.

Lynn picked up her cup of coffee and moved into the small but comfortable living room. She sat at the end of the couch so that she had a place to set her cup to rest. Jacob followed her in and sat in the recliner that was positioned just to the side of the couch and end table.

She took in a few deep cleansing breaths before she spoke. She realized at that moment, that she had never really talked about her and Topher's life together before. No one really cared enough to ask. A warm smile came over her face even though Jacob could easily see the strain behind it. She was remembering back to better times. "Let me give you some history first. You need to know how this all started."

As warmly as he could, he nodded his head. "Alright, I'm listening." He half whispered.

Lynn cleared her throat, more out of nervousness for revisiting this time in her life than necessity. "I met Christopher, Topher, just over 15 years ago. I was in my senior year at CSU. I was earning my Bachelor's degree in Equine Sciences. He had several horses in the program to be trained." Her voice was matter of fact.

"He was a stunning man. Even with greying hair and hard weathered hands, he still was the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on. I couldn't understand why he wasn't trying to pick up on me though. Now I know that I'm not Hollywood beautiful, but I did have my fair share of young bucks rutting around, waiting for me to show signs of heat, if you know what I mean." She chuckled and proceeded.

"As with most any college student, I was earning extra spending money by waitressing at The Stagecoach Inn most nights. Topher would be there for dinner twice a week, every week, for at least six months. He and I would talk about all sorts of things, cattle, horses, his future plans with the ranch, my future plans after I graduate, the Rams, the Broncos, the Rockies. I found out that he was twenty four years older than I was. I was surprised by that as he didn't look to be that much older. At least not to me. He always left a generous tip when he was through. He was a hard one for me to figure out. He lived so far away and yet he always had dinner at the Stagecoach, in my booth, every Tuesday and Friday. I thought for sure that he was going to ask me out but he never did. I figured that he must have thought that I was too young for him. He never once tried to touch me either. No glancing brush of our hands, no pinch or smack on the behind like all the rest of the patrons of the restaurant. No gentle grasp of my arm," her eyes went to Jake's, "to remind me that I forgot something. Nothing. I truly thought that I was not his type. He gave no sign that he was interested in me."

"A few weeks before I graduated, the college hosted a big horse show to showcase the student's training abilities. All of the horses that went through the program were put to the test. They were competed in the events that they had been schooled in. I had been assigned three horses, Daggat, Booger and Wyatt. At the time, I did not know that all three belonged to Topher. We were never told who the owners of the horses were so that there would not be any preferential treatment as some of the owners were wealthy and some were not. I was getting the Three Amigos ready for the reining class when Topher came up behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder and asked which one of them he needed to place his betting money on. I laughed and told him that I thought that Daggat had the most natural talent but that Booger was as honest as the day was long. Where he lacked in talent he made up for in heart and try. Wyatt was the little engine that could. I couldn't pick just one that would outshine the others. Topher looked at me and said that he appreciated the honest response but that I was not much of a help. We both laughed at that remark. I then told him that regardless of how well each individual horse worked, it all depended on how well the horses were piloted through the course."

"He then let his hand drop and took mine in his. He told me that he wanted to make a bet with me. I wasn't sure about doing something like that. I was never very good at the betting thing, always losing money on sports teams or horse races and such. Anyways, he laid out the rules of the bet. He said that if I didn't win the class with any one of his horses that he would load his horses into his trailer, pay his bill to the college and go home. If his horses won the class, I had to promise to come to his ranch and train his horses for him there, and marry him."

"Needless to say, he blew my mind with that statement. I took a moment to regain my composure before I responded to his... proposal... if that is what you wanted to call it. I pointed out that we haven't even dated, held hands, kissed. How could he be proposing marriage to me without the courting first? He pointed out that we were holding hands right at that very moment and he knew of a way to remedy another part of my concerns. I was about to say 'Oh yeah?', when he leaned in and planted the warmest, most loving kiss on me that I have ever experienced." She lightly brushed her fingers back and forth over her lips. "It wasn't rushed and hard, it wasn't faint and soft. It was just right. It was like he knew just what I needed. When he broke the kiss, he pulled away with a smile that rivaled the sun. He knew that he'd just hit a home run with me and, I swear Jacob, I couldn't stop smiling either."

"You must have won the class then."

"Nope. Totally blew it on Daggat. Scored a 0. Wyatt was a 68 while Booger scored a 71. Winning score was a 72.5."

"So how did you end up here?"

"After the show, Topher came over to the wash rack where I was rinsing the sweat off Booger and he said that the offer still stood. I told him that that damn offer is what caused my meltdown in the ring! I couldn't concentrate on the pattern because of that kiss. It flustered my thinking. He just smiled that sunshiny damn smile at me and knew that I was a goner. I fell hook, line and sinker. He came over and kissed me again. Damn him anyways. Making me fall for him like that." Lynn sat there reminiscing about that moment. She took a sip from her coffee cup to wet her throat from all the talking that she was doing. Jacob leaned forward in his chair and asked, "So you moved in and began training horses right away?"

"Not quite. I still had a few weeks left before I graduated and then I had to go back home to Lauten, OK, to get my stuff. My parents were very proud that I had graduated with honors, but were very angry that I had agreed to marry this man who was so much older than me. I argued with them constantly about it. It got to the point that it was time for me to leave. I wasn't going to be told how to live my life. They agreed to lighten up on the pressure to leave Topher if I promised to stay for the summer and help out at the house. I agreed to it because I really didn't want to fight with my parents. They were older parents and I was their only child. I called Topher and told him that I wouldn't be able to get to the ranch until the end of fall. He wasn't happy but he was understanding.

"I helped with painting the house, inside and out. Dad needed help adding a garage to the house so I picked up a hammer and helped there too. Mom had the beginnings of arthritis in her hands and legs so she wasn't able to motor around the house like she used to. I started to do the daily cleaning and upkeep. I spoke to Topher every Tuesday and Friday, just like old times. He would tell me what was going on at the ranch and I told him all about the house. I told him that I missed the face to face interaction and he asked if that meant that I missed his kisses. I couldn't stop blushing." She no more than spoke the words and her face went pink in front of Jacob. He smiled a small, sweet smile, knowing that she was reliving the love that she had for her husband.

She sipped her coffee again and continued, "Then it happened." Her expression on her face went from happy to angry with a huge helping of sad. "What happened?"

"Tornado."

"Oh God."

"Yeah, that's what I said. Only not in the same tone. I had left to visit my cousins, Jane and Joe Bradley, in Oklahoma City for the day. There may not be many Bradley's out there, but we are a tight knit bunch. Anyways, the weather reports were beginning to come in that the possibility for dangerous weather was moving in. I thought that it would be best that I head home just in case, because my parents may need help if the weather does turn dangerous. If you live in Oklahoma for any amount of time, you will learn that the skies open up with tornadoes all summer long, so the warnings were nothing new. I just didn't like being so far away from my parents. I jumped in my truck, the old one under the tarp out there." She hand gestured towards the shed row outside. "I was listening to the radio when I saw it. I was about ten miles from home when I saw the tornado pass through town. My heart sank because I couldn't see exactly what part of town it hit. I've never driven like a crazy woman before but the time had come. I floored my truck and tried to get home as fast as I could. I had to park my truck about a mile from home because of all the debris. I ran home the rest of the way." She began to have tears falling down her cheeks. This time she did nothing to hide them.

"I'm sorry." Jacob managed to softly whisper.

"They were found under some of the walls that had collapsed. They think that Dad died instantly. Mom didn't make it to the hospital. She died on the way."

"What did you do then?"

"What else could I do?" She wiped her tears from her cheeks with a tissue. "I salvaged what I could from the house. Asked the neighbors if they would take over the clean up, and if they did, that I would sell the property to them at a reasonable price. I didn't want anything else to tie me to that place. I buried my parents next to each other at the local cemetery, and then I headed back to Colorado."

"I am so sorry Lynn. That had to be very hard. I know how bad it hurt when I lost my Mom. I can't even imagine losing both parents at once." The genuine caring concern flowed through Jacob's words.

"Thanks Jake. It was bad. But Topher was a big help. He never pushed the marriage thing because he knew it was one of the trouble points that I had with my parents and every time that I would think about it, it would cause me to mourn my parents all over again. It took three years, but I finally said 'I do' to the most wonderful, loving man any woman could ever want. We worked as a pretty good team, me and Toph. He handled the cattle part. Choosing the stock, breeding, calving, branding, sorting, selling... the whole kit and caboodle. I took over his horse program. He had a good foundation on that program but it lacked finesse. Guess that's why he married me." She snickered at her own jab. "As you have seen from all those frames in the office, his cattle program is one of the best and my horse program is nothing to sneeze at either."

"I did notice. You have dozens of photos on each side."

She put that prideful smile on again for a brief moment. "I've started the training on some of the best reiners, cutters and ropers in all of Colorado."

"I'm impressed!"

"Don't be. With Topher gone, I am about to lose everything I have here. I haven't been able to focus on the training like I need to, so the horses aren't bringing the money like they should. I haven't been able to focus on the cattle so they aren't bringing in the money that they aught to. As a matter of fact, we've suffered more loss this year than we ever have. I can't tell if they are being stolen or preyed upon." She sat there for a few minutes contemplating on how to go about telling Jacob about Topher's last day with her.

"Can I ask you something real quick?"

"Sure." She had a sense of relief wash over her at the change in topic.

"How is it the the place is called the Swan Cattle Ranch and yet your last name is Rhodes?" The curiosity in Jake's question made her feel lighter inside.

"Well, the way I hear it was that Topher's mom had a brother, Christopher Swan. He was the first borne so he was the heir apparent for the ranch. He unfortunately took his partying a little too seriously. He was down at the Silver Buckle Ranch, participating in some team roping practice. The boys from the Silver Buckle had a reputation of being wild. Drinking, womanizing. He partook in some of the 'after practice activities' that one night. As he was driving home, he rolled the truck off of the side of the road, straight down the side of the mountain. He wasn't found until two days later. Grammy Swan was devastated. Grandpa Swan just poured himself into his work. It was all that Topher's mom could do to get her parents to eat, to sleep. Uncle Christopher is buried up there, in the pasture that we fed the cattle on tonight. He loved working with the cattle so that is were they laid him to rest. His passing left his sister, Chancey, the first Swan girl in five generations, to take over the ranch. She married John Rhodes. He was more than happy to take over the operations of the ranch. They had one son. My Christopher. He was named after his uncle."

"Did you and Christopher have any kids?" Jake didn't know that the simple question would stab Lynn in the heart so deeply.

"No." she whispered. "I can't have kids."

Jacob's eyes grew wide with the realization that he had just stuck his foot in his mouth. "Oh sweet Jesus Lynn. I didn't know!" His exasperation exploded from him. "I am SOOOOO freakin' sorry!" He felt like he was back peddling and yet getting nowhere.

"Don't be Jake. That very topic is the reason why Topher died."

"I don't understand."

"We had been trying for a few years. Topher wasn't exactly a spring chicken and I thought that if we were ever to have kids that I should have them while I was still young. We tried everything. Natural, artificial insemination, invitro fertilization, fertility drugs, you name it. We did it. The day before he died, I was hanging laundry on the clothes line. I was starting to feel the cramps begin. As Topher came walking across the yard, he was the first to notice the blood running down my leg. I didn't notice it until a breeze blew over my skin and the blood cooled. Once again, no baby. I felt like a failure. I could train world class horses. I could run a cattle ranch with the best of 'em. I could fish, shoot, chop wood, keep a house, cook, sew. The only thing that I couldn't do was give my Topher a child."

"Just because you didn't have a child doesn't make you a failure Lynn." Jacob tried to be encouraging but to Lynn's ears, it came out flat.

"He carried me up to the bathroom so that I could take off my soiled shorts and bathe off the rest of the blood. He brought me some clean clothes to change into. He never said a word to me. I couldn't stop crying. What he did do was what proved to me that having his child was less important than I was. He gave me a kiss that was soul reaching. It was slow, languid, pure love. I knew at that point that he would be just fine that I never gave him an heir to the ranch."

"He loved you Lynn. Of course you were the most important thing." Jacob tried. "You mentioned that this happened the day 'before' he died. What happened then?"

Lynn tipped her head back on the couch. She took in a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. She waited for a minute or so before she spoke. "He wanted to cheer me up, so we went to town and he took me shopping. I am not much of a 'shopper' Jake. I never was. I'm content in jeans, t-shirts and boots. I don't need fancy shoes and clothes. He thought that if I picked out a nice new dress, we could go out on the town as soon as I was up to it."

Jake started to think of Bella. How she didn't like to go shopping. That she preferred the simple things in life. He wondered what she was up to. If she missed him. If she even thought about him.

Lynn started, "When we got home and I was putting away the clothes that Topher had bought me, he was down in the kitchen packing a picnic basket." Her memories began to flood her...

~~~~two years prior to Jacob's visit~~~~

"Hey Lynn?"

"Yeah?"

"Ya comin' down or are ya goin' ta stare at all those new duds I got for ya?" He asked with mirth in his voice.

"I'm just hanging up that dress that you bought. I must say, I wasn't in a shopping kind of mood, but that dress is beautiful. Thanks Love. You do know how to make me feel better." She was moving down the stairs, turning into the kitchen. She came up behind her husband and wrapped her arms around his midsection from behind, resting her cheek on the center of his back.

"I have a surprise for you." Topher said, waggling his eyebrows up and down as he turned in her arms. He placed a light, chaste kiss on her lips.

"What kind of surprise?"

"Now if I'd told ya, then it wouldn't be much of a surprise now would it?" He smirked at his beautiful wife.

"You know that I'm not big on surprises, right?"

"Yeah I know, but this one is guaranteed to put that beautiful smile back on your face. You know, the smile I can't live without?" His eyes looked into hers. She could see the depths of love that this man would go to for her. "I need you to put on this blindfold for me," as he handed her the dark blue bandanna. She looked at the cloth and then at his electric blue eyes and then back at the cloth again. "Why?" She asked coyly.

"Quit askin' so many questions woman. Just do as your husband tells you. Don't you trust me?"

"Yes I do trust you. I just don't think that I should trust you right here in this minute." She lifted an eyebrow at him, challenging him. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "I'm not sure that you are being very trustworthy at this very moment because I see a twinkle of mischief in those eyes mister."

"Oh really?" He smiled at her, making that glint of mischief twinkle like the evening stars. She was such a sucker for this man. She smiled back with all the love she had, showing in her eyes.

"Ok. But if you dump me in the water tank again like you did last week, I swear...!" She turned her back to him so that he could tie the blindfold on. "You ruined a perfectly good pair of boots!" She admonished. After he was through knotting the cloth to her head, he softly swept away her amber colored hair from her nape and he trailed hot, open mouthed kisses along her smooth skin from her neck to her collar bone. As he worked his kisses back up her neck to her ear, he whispered, "Now would I do that? Besides, you looked like you needed to cool off that day," with as much innocence as he could muster. He then bit her lobe and then soothed the sting with a lick. A tremor raced through her whole body.

"Take my hand and allow me to lead you to one of the best afternoons you will ever have." She could hear the smile on his face. She offered her hand to him. He led her out of the house to the garage. "Now wait here for a minute." She could hear the door slide open. A four wheeler was started. The motor sound got louder as the ATV was driven out of the quonset. Topher parked the ATV directly in front of her. She asked, "Is this the surprise? We're going for a ride?" She was slightly tugging at her blindfold when she felt his big warm hand clasp her's so that she would stop.

"Stop trying to cheat woman! Let me do this with out so much chitter chatter. Now, mount up and hold on tight." He led her the few steps to the ATV so that she could get on. He then strapped the picnic basket onto the front of the bike. He slipped a leg over, careful not to kick Lynn as he sat down on the seat. He revved the engine a time or two before he put it in gear and they took off. Lynn was holding her husband the same way she had earlier, with her arms wreathed around his broad chest and her face pressed lovingly tight against his back. She could breath in his scent. This soothed her broken heart from the loss they went through not twenty four hours earlier.

Topher had driven in circles and had changed directions a few times to confuse her senses. She knew most of the ranch like the back of her hand. He did a good job getting her lost because once they stopped, she shucked the bandanna off of her eyes and blinked a few times for her eyes to get accustomed to the light. She did not recognize where they were. "Were did you take me Toph? I don't recognize this place."

"This is one of the places I love to hunt. Deer and elk run thick through here. I thought that you might like to see how beautiful it is up here during the summer." He had dismounted from the ATV and was unhooking the picnic basket while Lynn surveyed the view. Being able to look down over the deep valley below with the Arkansas River flowing through. Little black dots in the fields on either side of the river. Their cattle were fat and content. The thick smell of pine swirled around her and Topher. "I used to run cattle up through here during the summer months, but ever since the Hayman fire burned out most of the good pasture land and the fence posts, there really wasn't anything left for the cattle to graze on. Or to hold them in from wandering. I want to start replacing the fence line so that we can take advantage of the new growth. I have to admit, I haven't seen the grasses up here this green in a long time."

"It is beautiful Toph."

They both busied themselves with spreading the blanket and setting the food out for their lunch. Lynn sat to one side of the blanket while Topher laid on his side, propped up on his elbow, along the other. He looked up at her, took in the soft lines of her face, her blue eyes that have flecks of gold throughout, the dark red-gold of her hair floating around her face in the warm afternoon breeze. He couldn't help himself. He fell in love with her all over again as he did everyday. He knew all those years ago when he'd first met her at CSU the day he was dropping off his unbroke stock for the training course, that she was the one that he had been waiting for.

Topher Rhodes had been known on the rodeo circuit as the Don Juan, Romeo type. He would love'em and leave'em without a second thought. Never had a problem with that. The day that Lynn Bradley walked into his life, he knew that he would never, COULD never be that way again. He set his sites on Lynn and, like any good hunter would do, he patiently waited for his quarry to come to him. The day that he kissed her for the first time was like he had never kissed another woman before. The electricity that passed through them was undeniable. They were meant to be.

He continued to watch her as she ate the sandwich that he made for her. He watched how her jaw moved as she chewed. He watched the muscles in her throat expand and contract while she swallowed some of the tea. He watched her pick up the container of fruit pieces, pick out a grape and throw it at him with a teasing look in her eye. He smiled as he rose up, hooked his hard work toughened hand around her neck and pulled her to him in a hot, fiery kiss. This one was not the soft tender kisses that he would use to show his love. No, this was as lust filled as could be. He wanted her to know that he wanted her. Here. Now.

She responded to the kiss with her own passion and lust. But her's was very short lived. She pulled back. "What's wrong Lynn?"

"I can't do this. Not yet." She started to sink back into that blue place that Topher had worked so hard to draw her out of.

"I'm sorry Honey. I just wanted to show my wife that I love her. That I can't keep my hands off of her sweet, sexy body. That I wanted to make out with her like we were teenagers. I didn't want to pressure you." He said, his heart broken as well.

"I know you didn't. It's still new is all."

"Come here and let me make you better. I want you to know that I would do anything for you, for your happiness Lynn, anything." He reached to her, pulling her down to lie in front of him, while she still had the container of fruit pieces in her hand. He drew her into one of his patented, languid kisses. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she began to melt in his embrace. Neither one noticed the Tupperware starting to tip. Before they knew it, fruit pieces and juice were spilled over both of them with Topher getting the worst of it. He jumped with a startled gasp as the cold liquid soaked his shirt and made contact with his skin. "HOLY CRAP! That's cold!"

Lynn made her own squeaking sounds as she also got splashed with the contents. They both jumped up to try and lessen the mess on themselves. They looked at each other for a brief moment with shock on their faces. In a blink later, they were both laughing so hard that they could hardly breathe. "Way to kill the moment Lynn." She said out loud.

"I knew you wanted me out of my clothes Babe, but that was unnecessary." Topher gibed.

"You and me both Darlin', you and me both." She chuckled back at him. "Umm, did you remember to pack any paper towels or something so that we can clean up?"

"I don't remember. Go look in the box on Spider. If we have any, they'd be in there."

She walked over to the ATV to look through the picnic basket and the tool box to find some paper towels while Topher picked up the blanket that they had been laying on to shake out the fruit medley. He walked about ten yards towards the forest edge to give the blanket a good shake when he heard it. A deep throated grunt. He spun to his left and spied the source of the noise. A black bear the size of a truck. He froze in his tracks at the sight of the bear. He swallowed his heart back down from his throat. He slowly started to walk backwards away from the bear. In his head, he remembered that you never run from a bear. It just eggs them on to chase you.

Lynn was still rummaging through the tool box, "Honey! I can't seem to find anything to clean up with. Guess you're going to get me out of my shi..." She had turned to see that Topher was retreating from one of the biggest bears she had ever seen. Her eyes grew huge with fear and panic.

"TOPHER!"

"Get that bike started NOW!" He shouted, not turning to look her way. His full attention was on the bear that was now following him, sniffing the air like it was picking up a scent.

She could hardly move. Her stomach churned. Her feet felt like they were in cement blocks. She managed to come to her senses and jumped on the bike and fired it up. The sound seemed to agitate the bear. Topher was still trying to make his way, backwards, to Lynn. "Do you want me to come get you?" She frantically called.

"NO! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

"I'M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT YOU!"

"LYNN. LEAVE NOW!" She could hear the bear roar and watched as Topher fell. He scrambled back to his feet. He threw the blanket he still had in his hands at the bear and started to run towards where Lynn was at with the ATV. He ripped his shirt off and threw it to the ground, praying that the smell of the fruit juice would distract the bear long enough for them to get away. It didn't work. The bear took chase and tackled Topher in one swift move. Lynn heard her husband yell from the shock and pain of the bear biting him through the shoulder. She began to drive the ATV towards the bear in an effort to make it leave Topher alone. All it did was piss the bear off more to the point that it shook Topher like a rag doll between it's teeth. That's when she heard him. Through all the noise from the ATV, the bear's growls and roars, the fight that Topher was putting up, she heard, "Save yourself Lynn. Please. Go."

Through a waterfall of tears she shouted, " I'LL GET HELP!" And with that, she sped off down the trail that she was unfamiliar with. Luckily the ATV had left a trail of downed grass from the trip up to the clearing. She jumped off of the bike while it was still in motion, ran into the house and called 911 because she knew that Topher would need help. He would be injured, but he would be fine. She was NOT going to lose her husband today. NO, not today. After she contacted emergency services and they were on their way, she called the neighbors at the Twenty X Ranch and asked if they could come over to help hunt that bear down and kill it. When they heard that Topher was still up there they immediately rallied to her aid.

The Sheriff's deputy was the first to arrive. He walked into the house without knocking. Lynn heard him come in and rushed to his arms. "Joe. Please tell me everything is going to be just fine. I can't lose him Joe, I just can't." She began sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh Cuz, I wished I could. I'm not going to lie to you. It doesn't sound good." He held her at arms length so that she could look him in the eye. "I promise you that we will get Topher and we will get that bear." He hugged her to him close again and allowed her to cry. He kissed the crown of her head and reiterated, "I promise."

As the rest of the emergency responders arrived as well as the folks from the Twenty X, they all looked over a map that Lynn had pointed out the approximate location of the attack. The ATVs were loaded and began to start up the trail. Lynn ran out of the house, "I'll lead you to him!"

Officer Bradley caught her by the waist and said, "No way Lynn. You stay here. The last thing Topher would want is you getting hurt."

"But he needs me. He's the one that's hurt." She pleaded.

"No. I will stay here with you and we will wait this out together, ok?" Her cousin offered. "And don't make me handcuff you to the stair rail either. You KNOW that I'll do it." He offered a little levity. She gave him a scowl.

"They found his body the next morning. They wouldn't let me look at it. They never did find the bear. I was told by Brent Greene, the owner of the Twenty X, that the bear's description was similar to one that had attacked and killed one of his hired hands a year or so before. That kid's name was Emmett McCarty. Him and another hand were out fixing fences back then, about five miles or so away from where Topher and I had gone. The bear has a white patch on it's chest, but the distinguishing mark is that it's missing the tip of it's left ear. Probably from a fight with another bear." Lynn sipped the last of her coffee from her mug. She set the cup down on the end table, grabbed the throw pillow and hugged it to her chest. Her right hand held her left shoulder while her left arm wrapped around the pillow across her midsection.

Jacob noticed the similar body language that he had seen on Bella every time Edward would hurt her. He knew that Lynn was wounded down to her soul. A few quiet minutes passed as they both seemed lost in thought.

"You should get to bed Jacob. You are in a different time zone now so getting up early is going to be REALLY early for you. I'll make sure that I give you a holler when it's time to get up." Lynn put the pillow back, picked up her empty cup and started towards the kitchen when Jacob stood up in front of her and gave her a friendly hug. He truly felt for her and all of the loss that she has had to endure through her life.

"Thank you for telling me about your husband. I know that it wasn't easy to do, but what I picked up from your story Lynn, it wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was Jacob. If I hadn't spilled the fruit stuff all over Topher, the bear would have never attacked him." She pulled out of Jacob's light embrace and looked at him with disbelief in her eyes. "He would be here today if it wasn't for my clumsiness."

"Hang on Lynn, didn't you say that he threw the blanket and his shirt at the bear and the bear kept on chasing him?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"Lynn, the bear was chasing Topher because he wanted your husband, not the food. If it was only after the food, It would have stayed with the blanket and shirt."

She had never thought of that little detail before. In the back of her mind, she knew that Jacob was right. Relinquishing the guilt that she has carried for the last two years would not come instantly but she could feel it beginning to lessen as his logic began to sink in. She reached over to Jacob and gave him a one armed hug back. "Thanks for helping me see things with a different perspective. How did you get to be so smart anyways?" She managed a pleasant smile.

"Just good genes I guess." He answered smugly.

"Well then, I think that those 'good genes' need to get some rest. You have a very busy day tomorrow, before breakfast." She gave Jake a kind but devilish look and then headed into the kitchen to turn off the coffee pot and rinse out her cup. Jacob gave her a 'punched in the stomach' look before he chuckled, "Way to hit a guy below the belt Lynn, right in the appetite." He turned and headed up the stairs and into his room. He almost had trouble sleeping because he was quite wound up from Lynn's story. She on the other hand, stood by her bedroom window. She looked out over the pastures and trees in the direction where the clearing would be.

She wept.


	7. Chapter 7

That Summer

Chapter 7

When you disagree, try not to be disagreeable about it.

"Wakey wakey Jake!"

"I'm up!" He shouted half awake, as he sat up at the edge of his bed. "I'm up."

"I told you that the mornings get here quickly. Get yourself washed up and ready to start knocking out chores, OK. Down in the kitchen in 30." Lynn left Jake's room with a smile on her face. Her day was starting out with a lighter feel to her guilt riddled psyche. Her talk with Jacob last night had been quite therapeutic.

She headed to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee. She was spreading some homemade peach jam on a piece of toast when Jacob made his way down the stairs. She offered him the slice.

"Thanks." He yawned as he took the snack.

"I'll have more for breakfast for you after the morning activities. The vet is coming out to preg check that herd of cattle we fed last night. Then those that are confirmed will need to be loaded in the cattle trailer that should arrive by 9 or so this mornin'. All the rest, you and I get to haul to a pasture that I've leased out on the plains. I have a deal with a rancher out there to bring out all my cows that haven't been settled yet, so they can be covered by his bulls. In exchange he gets his choice of the bull calves next spring."

"Unff." Jacob grunted, still half asleep.

"We need to get out there and feed the horses while we wait for the vet to arrive." Lynn swallowed her coffee in three gulps. She was way to energetic for Jacob's liking this early in the morning. "You didn't bring any long pants?" She noticed Jacob's attire consisted of a t-shirt, cutoffs and sneakers.

"Um no. I thought that since it was summer, I could get by wearing my shorts."

"Lesson number one - The animals eat before you do. Lesson number two - Always wear full length jeans and boots to protect your legs and feet. You will see why today. I am sure that I have some of Topher's clothes that should fit you well enough." She walked to the staircase, turned and watched Jacob scarf down the second piece of toast. She quietly laughed to herself as she ascended the stairs. "City boy."

"These should fit you." She handed Jake a pair of faded Wranglers and a pair of what looked like new Justin's. "Toph only wore those boots a couple of times. Give 'em a try."

He half trotted back up to his room and put the new clothing on. He appraised his image in the mirror on the dresser. "Hmpf. Not bad if I do say so myself." He came back down the stairs, two at a time. Once he hit the ground floor, he stood there in front of Lynn and struck a pose like a GQ model. "TA DA!" He then started to pull at the crotch just a bit. "Jeez. Kind of tight around the balls."

She blushed. "Topher did wear the slim fit cut. Perhaps you need the regular 13MWZs instead. Can you make it 'til lunch?" Turning her back and walking towards the mud room to get what keys they would need. She couldn't believe that she just ogled Jacob's crotch. Her blush deepened.

"Yeah, I think so. Just as long as I don't have to lift heavy weights. I might pop a seam, or worse, a nut!" He laughed. He rotated his pelvis a time or two to see if he couldn't get a comfortable seating of his junk in the jeans. "I do like these boots though. They fit just fine." He started to follow her out through the mud room.

"Good. I'm glad that they will be put to good use. Let's get to gettin' now. We're burnin' daylight."

They walked beside each other, down to the barn where the horses were kept. She had Jacob toss hay to all of the horses while she made up the grain buckets. Several of the broodmares required synthetic hormones to control their breeding cycles and some to help maintain pregnancies. She did not want Jacob to be handling the drug. She added it to the mares' grain and then hung each bucket in the stall of the mares that needed the medicine. She washed her hands of the slightly sticky molasses from the grain, and the oily medicine that had been added. Jacob came walking in the far end of the barn, brushing off the stray pieces of hay that blew out of his hands as he was tossing it into the feeders.

"All done?" She queried. "All done." He smiled.

"Good. Ready for some breakfast?"

"Always!"

"Let's go get some food and then we can get these stalls cleaned before the vet gets here."

"Sounds like a plan!"

They walked back to the house in companionable silence. When they made their way into the kitchen, Jacob poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table while Lynn looked in the fridge for an idea for breakfast. She pulled out a couple ham steaks, the carton of eggs and the package of hash browns.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jacob offered as he took several swallows of his drink.

"I got this one Jacob. Just sit and enjoy your time of quiet. It won't last long."

They ate their breakfast over light banter.

They cleaned up the morning dishes and then headed back to the barn to turn out the horses and to pick the stalls. They walked to the machine shed once they heard the vet's truck drive on through, sounding the horn as she passed the house. They got into the F250 that was parked closest to the door. "What name does this truck have?" Jacob asked with honest interest.

"This one I call Nellie. As in Whoa Nellie! I know. Silly." Lynn laughed. "Help me get her hitched to that stock trailer over there." She pointed to where there were three trailers parked. One flatbed trailer, one stock trailer and one three horse slant load trailer. Jacob looked at each of the trailers. "Do they have names too?"

"No." Lynn was shyly defensive. "Maybe. Am I really that pathetic?" She smirked as she looked into Jake's eyes and found that she was getting lost in their depths. She blinked a couple of times to clear her train of thought.

"I don't think that you're pathetic Lynn. I think that it's cute how you name everything. Can you come up with a name for my car when you have a chance?"

"Uh, yeah, I suppose I can. It is your car Jake, you should be the one to give it a name. You know it's quirks, it's 'personality' if I may."

"I'm no good at coming up with names like that. The last pet we had was a dog named Spot, and he ran away."

"Ohh, bummer. Let's get hooked to the trailer and then we can think on a name for that little red vee wee later."

They got the hitch for the trailer secured, called for the dogs to load up and once the dogs were contently sitting in the back seat of the crew cab, they drove off to the field where the vet was already shoulder deep in preg checking the cows.

"OH MY GOD! What is she doing to that cow?" Jacob was very anxious with his question.

"She's checking them to see if they are pregnant or not. What did you expect Jake? The cows to be lying on their backs with their feet up in stirrups? Cattle are preg checked when the vet inserts her arm into their behind so that she can feel the uterus. She can actually feel the lump in the uterus where the fetus attaches. To confirm that the lump is actually a calf, she can run an ultrasound probe in there and visualize the embryo."

Jake's mind quickly darted off to his friend Embry. Is that where they came up with his name? Embry, embryo... weird.

"Doesn't that hurt the cow," Jake hesitated a moment, "going in the butt like that?"

She snickered, "They don't seem to be too bothered by it. BUT! Pardon the pun, that is what the squeeze chute is for. It holds them still so that we can work on them without harming them, or us for that matter."

"This one is positive Lynn." She heard the vet call from the rear of the cow.

"Thanks Doc. Give me a minute to find my log book so I can jot it down." She fumbled around the front seat of the truck looking for her notebook that she wrote everything down in. "Which pen are you putting the prego ones in doc?" She looked up and noticed that the release pen had two cows in one contained side and one in the other.

"The positives are on the right side hun."

"Doctor Barbara Anderson, I would like you to meet my summer help. This is Jacob Black. He comes from Washington. The La Push Reservation." Lynn pulled on Jacob's wrist to get him to come closer to where the veterinarian was standing after she had just removed her plastic gloved arm from the rear of the patient in the stocks. He was about to offer his hand in greeting when he noticed the smarmy mess that was dripping off of her hand. He opted to give the vet a slight wave of the hand instead. "Hi"

"Well hello Jacob Black. Nice to meet you. I would shake your hand but as you can see, I am a little unfit to touch anyone at the moment." She laughed. Her eyes sparkled with kindness.

"Yeah, no shit." He stated plainly.

"Oh there is plenty of that Jacob. I usually have to move what I can out of the way so I can work in there." The vet giggled at Jake's uneasiness with the situation.

"Does that hurt the cow?" Jake decided that he would ask the doctor.

"It is more than likely an uncomfortable sensation. If you look at it in terms of the size of the poo that they are pushing out and the size of my arm going in, they know I am there but it really doesn't hurt. Unless they are virgin heifers. They squirm more than the veteran cows. Now, I do use an ample amount of lube gel to ease the entry of my arm. They just don't understand that when I'm doing this, it usually means that there is a bull in their future to satisfy their carnal instincts. Same goes for horses too."

"You do this to horses too?" Jake's eyebrows were raised.

"Sure. They are preg checked in the very same way. We use a different type of stock to stand them in but the ultrasound wand goes in in the same place." The vet was very matter-of-fact.

"Hey Jake, I need you to operate the front of the squeeze chute once the doc is done with the cow." Lynn came walking over after she was done writing the ear tag numbers of the cows that were already checked, in the correct columns in her log book. She showed Jake which lever to pull on to release the head catch so that the cow could move through. Then she showed him how to reset the catch for the next cow. He worked the squeeze chute like a pro after three cows. Lynn kept track of the positives, negatives and had to create an additional pen for those that were possibles.

While they were working on the herd, the cattle trailer backed up to the loading chute and the driver jumped out of the cab to start getting the gates and dividers in the trailer ready for the load.

"Hey Tom." Lynn greeted.

"Hiya Lynn. How's it going?"

"I would like to introduce you to my help for the summer. His name is Jacob Black." Lynn gestured to Jake to come on over for a quick greeting. Jacob checked with the vet to make sure that he wasn't needed for the moment. When he got the all clear from Dr. Anderson, he jogged on over, pulling the slightly too small glove off and offered his hand.

"Glad to meet you sir." Jacob was on his best manners.

"Tom. Tom McBryan. Nice to meet you ." he said as he grasped Jacob's hand with a manly squeeze. He looked Jacob up and down and asked, "Are you one of those redskin trade students that Topher and Lynn take in from time to time?"

Jacob was struck silent by the racial slur that just passed his way. He regrouped.

"Yes sir, I am of the Quileute Nation and I am a student here to learn all about ranching." His tone was cool.

Lynn popped in between the two men as soon as she heard the off color comment. "Jake, please continue to help Dr. Anderson. We are so close to being done." Jake turned and walked away, still looking at Tom for a moment over his shoulder wondering where this guy came from. After all, it is the 21st century. No one uses the term 'redskin' anymore. Except the football team from Washington DC.

"Tom, that was uncalled for." Lynn said sternly.

"What did I do? All I did was say hello!" He truly was oblivious to his remark.

"You just insulted my help. You called him a redskin. No one says that anymore and besides, it doesn't matter what 'color' his skin is. He is still a human with feelings. I think you pissed him off." She whispered the last part.

"I don't care if I pissed him off or not. I just don't understand why you and Topher always took in all those lost kids from the reservations. Do you really think that what you do makes a difference?"

"I would like to think so." She firmly believed.

"Ah Lynn, you have a heart of gold. I would lay ya even money that most of the kids that go through your program just go back to their reservations and fall into the rut that they all do. Drinking. Smoking. Having babies. Drinking some more. They just can't be helped."

"Tom McBryan, if I hadn't already made this deal with you to buy my cattle, why... I would tell you to go blow your know-it-all attitude out of your ass!" Lynn was pissed.

"What? Can't handle the truth? 99.9 percent of those so called 'Native Americans aren't anything more than welfare sponges. That fraction that does break the mold still don't usually amount to much anyways. No great people to talk about since Geronimo and Sitting Bull."

"Tom, get back in your truck. Do NOT say another thing to Jacob or I will personally see fit to shoot you in the ass with my varmint rifle and it just so happens, I have it in my truck!" Lynn was seething.

"Well, well. Look at the fire in those eyes Darlin'! I LIKE it! You are a feisty thing aren't ya?" Tom reached out and cupped her face in his hand. She slapped his hand away. "Ahh come on Lynn, I was just being silly. How 'bout I make it up to you, huh? I'll take ya out to dinner. Then we can go back to my place and make sweet 'music' together? Don't that sound like fun?" His face showed an arrogant gleam. He was, after all, the richest rancher in all of Colorado. He was a widower and he has been relentless in his pursuit of Lynn since last summer.

"Sorry, not in the mood for music tonight, or any other night for that matter."

"Oh, I see. You like those toys better than a real man, huh? Darlin', this is all because of you." He grabbed her hand and shoved it over his crotch so that she could feel the hard on that he was sporting. "You get me stiffer that a fence post Sweetie."

"Give me my hand back you asshole!" She screamed. Jacob took notice of the loud voices and wondered if he needed to step in.

"Doc, you done here?" He asked hurriedly.

"Last one Jake. Sounds like ol' Tom won't take no for an answer." She shook her head knowing that Tom wasn't the type to be rejected for long.

"Thanks Doc." Jake let the last cow out of the chute and then ran over to where Lynn was and placed himself in between her and Tom. Tom took half a step back and looked Jacob square in the eyes.

"You are a big one ain'tcha kid."

"Big enough."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Jacob! Step back please." Lynn sternly pleaded.

"You OK Lynn? Looked like Mr. McBryan was having some issues."

"Everything is fine now Jacob. Thank you for your concern. Please step back and help me load up the cattle that Tom came to pick up." She gently wrapped her hand around Jacob's bicep, at least as far as her fingers could reach. She pulled him towards her in an effort to get him to stand down from this standoff that he and Tom were in.

Tom stood there for a few seconds longer, posturing like he had won this battle. He then walked over to his trailer and opened up the rear gate to allow the cows to load in.

"Jacob, I need you to go sit in the truck please." Lynn asked, knowing that Jacob was still ready for a fight. His posture and vibe was too strong not to pick up on.

"But Lynn..."

"No buts. I won't ask again. Go to the truck. Have a drink of water and I will be back as quickly as I can. The cattle will practically load themselves anyways." Lynn gave him an encouraging look in an effort to lighten the mood.

"You have 10 minutes Lynn. Then I will make sure that Mr. McBryan is escorted off your land." She looked at Jacob, studying him. He had no right to say any of this but she knew that he just took a mental beating and was agitated.

"Give me 15." She was trying her best to defuse Jacob's anger.

"15. Not a minute more."

"Thanks Jacob." She gently grabbed his hand and gave it a firm, appreciative squeeze. Lynn jogged over to the vet who was standing next to her truck, washing her hands from the water hose in the back of the vet box. They spoke for a few minutes about the cattle. Jake heard Lynn tell the vet to fax the results and the bill. The vet drove off, tooting the horn and waving at Jake as she passed the truck he was sitting in. Lynn then went into the pen and began to herd the cattle, with help from the dogs, up the loading ramp into the trailer. Once the first few were loaded, the rest followed and they 'practically loaded themselves.'

"Tom, I will call you when I find out the results of the four that Doc was unsure about. She drew blood to run. I should have the results in a coupla days. I can deliver any others if you want at that time." Lynn was all business.

"Nice doin' bidniss with ya Darlin'. I look forward to your call." He blew her a kiss, winked and then climbed in the cab of his semi and hauled away 38 of the fifty that were checked this morning.

Lynn walked over to her truck, looked at Jacob's stoic face and knew that while all he showed was strength, inside he was hurting. He probably has never run into such an arrogant bigot like that in his life. "Jake. Are you all right?"

"Fine." Jake replied quietly.

"Don't let him get to you Jake. You're better than that."

"Where does he get off talking about me like that? He'd never met me before now, and yet he already has QUITE the opinion formed about me." Jacob gruffed.

"He and his whole family are idiots Jake. Unfortunately, they are idiots with all the money. I wished that I didn't need to sell to them but you know that I am having troubles. I just never realized how deep his bigotry and self-righteousness ran. Anyways, I promised him 40 bred cows. He got 38 today. There are eight that we need to get loaded into the trailer here and the other four can be turned loose into the pasture for now. Once Doc faxes me with the test results on if they are pregnant or not, we will have to deliver two more to him and then I am done dealing with that... man." She spit out the last word like it was vile.

"Let's get loaded then." Jake jumped out of the cab and started to walk towards the pen where the remaining cattle were held. Lynn started the truck and maneuvered the trailer to the loading chute. Gimpy and Gus did most of the work getting the cattle into the trailer. Lynn pulled forward a few feet so that Jake could close the rear door on the trailer and secure it with a carbiner through the latch. The gate that held the remaining four head was opened so they could access the pasture area. Lynn had Jacob climb into the bed of the truck to toss out the two bales of hay that were there.

"Ugghhh! Uncomfortable!" Jake growled.

"What is?" Lynn was more focused on making sure all the gates, alleyways, catch-pens and such were closed so that none of the cattle could escape.

"These pants. Pinching my goodies again." Jacob complained.

"Well I guess it's a good thing that we are just about ready to head on into town then Mr. Black. Can't have you being pinched now can we?" Lynn smirked as she cut the bales open and tossed the hay to the waiting cows.

"I see what you mean about needing long pants and boots. My pants are covered in cow shit from working the squeeze chute." Jacob looked over his feet and legs as he jumped out of the truck bed.

"I would never lie to you Jake. Bullshit you every now and again but lie, never." She winked at him and laughed. It felt good to laugh again, even if it was just briefly. "Let's hit the road, shall we?"

"You driving or am I?"

"You ever haul livestock before? Or at least really heavy loads?"

"No."

Lynn thought on it for a minute. "Tell you what. I will let you drive under one condition."

"Should I be worried?" Jacob smirked.

"Nah. You just have to agree that you will gladly accept my instructions on how to do it right."

Jacob sat there for a moment realizing that Lynn had left herself WIDE open for all sorts of comebacks. His devilish smile slowly spread across his handsome face and a twinkle appeared in his eye. Lynn watched this transformation take place on Jacob's face and an uneasiness stirred in her gut. "What?" She still was clueless.

"Instruction's on how to do _what_ right, Ms. Rhodes?" His flirty look took her breath away. At that moment, she realized what she had said moments ago. She blushed bright red. "How to drive hauling livestock you maniac!" Jacob started to laugh and she couldn't help but to join in.

The trip to the front range was long and winding. Jacob took to his instructions like a champ. As they pulled into the gate on the acreage that Lynn was leasing, she could see two bulls on the horizon. "That must be them." She opened the gate for Jake to pull through and then closed the gate behind them. She gestured to Jake to pull further forward so that the cattle could easily jump off the trailer without getting caught in the fence. Before she unloaded the livestock she climbed back into the truck. "Jake, before we unload, I want to do something. It might take a few minutes, so if you want to try and call home you can."

"Sure sure." He dug the cell phone out of his pants pocket and tried to call Bella. He watched Lynn as she wandered over to the line of trees along the bank of the little creek called Box Elder. He was listening to Bella's phone ring in his ear as he observed Lynn kneel down, cross herself and begin to... pray? He wasn't sure if that was what she was doing but it sure looked like it. He pulled his phone away from his ear and just as he hit the end button, he heard Bella's voice on the other end, "Hello?" Click. Damn, she's going to be pissed at him now. Oh well.

He jumped out of the truck after tossing his phone on the dash, and made his way over to Lynn. "What are you doing Lynn?"

"Saying a prayer to ward away evil spirits Jacob."

"Evil spirits?"

"Yes Jake. While this land has some of the best grassland available, there was an incident that occurred here more than 100 years ago that just makes me think that praying for only good things might be helpful."

"What happened?"

"It's called 'The Hungate Massacre.' The Hungate family were murdered by marauding Arapaho Indians, sometime in the mid 1860's. I feel it only right to pray to the Great Spirits that look over this land to ask that everything that may wander on it, be protected and kept happy. And to let all the girls get pregnant too. So much bad happened here. Time for some good."

"You pray to the Great Spirits?"

"Yes. I minored in Native American Theology while I was at CSU. Praying never hurts Jacob. One thing I learned is that nothing happens randomly, like most people believe. The Spirits have a plan for all of us. People... animals... all living things have a purpose. We just have to open our hearts to see it. Right now, I just want the bad joojoo to be cleared from this land. I have had enough 'bad' to last a lifetime."

Jacob had no doubt that what Lynn thought and felt about the land and the spirits were true to her. He however, had room for doubt. He had prayed so very hard that night he was told about his parents' accident. His prayers were answered with his mom passing away from her injuries and his dad forever crippled. To add to his misery, his sisters left him a few short years later, to care for their dad on his own. He was barely 13 at the time. Four years later, the spirits were still kicking him in the ass with making him love a girl that only sees him as a friend and nothing more.

Lynn got up, brushed the dirt from her knees and went to the back of the trailer to turn the cattle loose.

"Why are you breeding these ones with those bulls instead of yours Lynn?" Jacob was curious.

"Sometimes you just have to change the bull Jacob. Some cows do not want to breed with certain bulls. Or they do breed but don't settle. Can't explain it. Same goes for horses. We could spend the money on AI, but since I don't have the funds and Ken Freund has these younger bulls that he wants to try, we both thought it was a good idea to let mother nature do her thing." Just as she was closing up the empty trailer, a dust covered Silverado pulled into the gate area. She and Jacob looked over at the same time to see a large hulk of a man exit the truck. "Ken!" Lynn was thrilled.

"I thought that was you Lynn. Just had to check to be sure." Ken returned in his deep baritone voice, a smile a country mile wide on his face. "Is that all the girls you're bringing? Not very many."

"I might have more Ken. I sold 40 to McBryan today. I have at least 200 up on the north pasture that I haven't checked in a few days. I just know that these are definitely ready for a new man in their lives." Lynn walked over to Ken and he gave her a bear hug. He kissed her on the crown of her head. Jacob took note of this man's stature. Tall, maybe 6'5", 6'6", 260 pounds, easily. Not an ounce of fat on him. Jacob had a strange feeling stir in his belly as he watched Lynn peck this man on the lips. He just blew it off as lunchtime hungers. "Ken, this is Jacob Black. My summer help." Lynn smiled as she introduced the two men. They shook hands. Jacob steadied himself for round two of bigotry in the country.

"Jacob huh, nice name Bud. I have a nephew named Jacob. Fun kid." Ken was truly pleased to make Jake's acquaintance. "Have you two had lunch yet?" Ken inquired.

"We were just headed into Elizabeth so we could get something to eat and then we need to stop at Big R and pick up some new jeans and a pair of gloves for Jake."

"Mind if I tag along? I haven't had lunch yet myself and I can always find something that I can't live without there at Big R." Ken was hoping that his attempt at covering his longing for Lynn wasn't falling short. He just wanted to spend some time with her without looking like a desperate fool.

"The more the merrier Ken! Follow us!" Lynn's day just got better. Jacob's just got more confusing. The insults never came. Maybe this guy isn't so bad after all. Jacob heard a very, VERY small voice in the back of his mind say 'mine' and he didn't know why or what it meant so he just brushed it off for now.

They had a nice lunch at Cosentino's even though Jake got ribbed for smelling like a feedlot. All three went into the Big R store and headed straight to the jeans section. Lynn pulled out some regular Wranglers. She handed a pair to Jake and told him to go try them on. As he was closing the fitting room door, he spied Ken take Lynn's hand and her laughing with him. Jake closed the door and while he was shucking off the too tight jeans and pulling on the more fuller cut pair, he wondered if this guy is someone that Lynn was dating. It sure seemed like they were more than just friends. Friends. Jacob made a mental note to try and call Quil or Embry before he has to head back to the mountains. He was bound and determined to find out why they thought that they could fix Bella's truck. Bella! He had hung up on her! Crap!

"Come on Jake, get out here so I can see if those are the right size." He heard Lynn's voice float over the door top. Without his boots on, he padded out of the fitting room and stood in front of her. She eyed him as best as she could without focusing on his crotch again. No, this time she couldn't take her eyes off of his round, taught ass. Well muscled, strong thighs. She closed her eyes so she could refocus. The length of the jeans was right so she asked, "How do they feel Jake? Are they comfortable?"

"Much better." He bent over, squatted, twisted his hips, jogged in place for a moment and not once did the jeans ride up or pinch his sensitive parts. Lynn had to look away again.

"Good. I'll get you five more and you can just wear those ones out of the store." Jake went back into the fitting room and pulled his boots on, grabbed the faded, smelly jeans and followed Lynn back to the equipment part of the store before she excused herself to go look at some boots a few aisles over. Ken had a few pairs of gloves in his hands. He handed Jake a pair of extra large gloves. "Try these on son. Do they fit?"

Jake slipped his hands in the gloves. No more squeezing across the palm. The finger lengths were just right. "These are awesome Mr. Freund."

"It's Ken, Jacob. Mr. Freund is my dad."

"Ken. Thanks for finding these. I'll just put them with the jeans that we're buying."

"My treat Jacob. Just take good care of Lynn up there on that damn mountain side, huh. She likes to think that she can do it all and I know that there are plenty of ranchers out there that would just as soon see her fail. She can be a bit stubborn. I have tried to get her to sell and move down here but she has this misplaced sense of duty to a husband that has been gone for two years now. I admire her devotion but sometimes reality doesn't work in your favor. Know what I mean?"

"Actually, I do know what you mean."

"Good. Just do what you can to make things easier for her and you and I will get along perfectly Jake. Got it?"

"I will. That's what I'm out here for anyways Ken. To help out for the summer."

Lynn walked up to the two men and placed her armload of jeans into Ken's strong arms while she flirted, "Do you mind carrying these for me. They do get heavy."

"Anything for you M'lady." Ken tipped his head in a medieval nod. Again Jacob felt a strange stir in his gut and that wee little voice 'mine'. Hmpf.

They carried everything to the front of the store to pay. Lynn and Jacob really needed to hit the road as the drive home would be a long one. Ken gave Lynn another bear hug and a chaste kiss before he shook Jake's hand and reinforced his conversation earlier with Jake with just a look. Jake nodded his head in acceptance of the wordless charge that Ken gave him. He watched as Ken drove off.

As they tossed the bagged items into the cab of the truck, Jacob teased, "I think he likes you Lynn." She hopped into the driver's seat this time.

"Who Jake?" Oblivious again.

"Ken. He worries about you."

"He does? How would you know that Jake?

"He asked me to keep you safe."

"He did?" A small tone of anger was filtering in.

"Not in so many words, but yeah, he did. You guys dating?"

"No. We're not dating. We did date, before I married Topher, but it obviously didn't work out. We are just really good friends. I get him and he gets me. That's all."

"Uh-huh. If you say so."

"What? You don't have a really good friend back home that gets you and you get them?"

Jacob looked out the windshield so that Lynn could not see the hurt in his eyes. "I have a friend. I told you about her last night. I get her. She just doesn't get me."

"Then it's her loss Jacob." Jacob looked over at Lynn. The look in her eyes underscored her understanding of his situation. "Have you had a chance to call her yet?"

"Uh, yeah. I didn't get through though." He stated, embarrassed to admit that he had hung up on her. "I'll try again." He grabbed the phone off the dash and noticed that there was a missed call from Bella. Apparently she tried to call him back. Great. How mad could she be? Only one way to find out.


	8. Chapter 8

That Summer

Chapter 8

What would I do without my Betas? You Ladies ROCK! Oh, and get better soon Ms. Twiggs Swan! 3 3 3

Convincing yourself that a bad idea is a good one, is a bad idea.

Meanwhile, back in Forks...

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I thought that he would stay and help me get over being dumped but he left me. Edward doesn't want me. Jacob doesn't want me. No one wants me"

"I'm not sure that that is what really happened Bella. I'm sure that there is a perfectly good reason why Jacob went away for awhile. He is coming back isn't he?" Angela's concern for her friend was written all over her face.

Bella sipped at her iced tea while she was contemplating her next move. She had convinced herself that because Jacob had left her in her time of need, that it meant that he really didn't see her as anything more than just as a friend. Her heart was still hurting from the brush off that Edward had given her just over a week before. She didn't know what to do with herself. She was sure that as caring as Angela was about her, Angela just couldn't understand the depth of her pain from losing the only love of her life to someone whom she considered as less than trailer trash.

"Yeah, Jake will be coming back. Near the end of August, just before school starts up again. He'll be a senior this year." Sip.

"See. He didn't leave you. He just went on a vacation or whatever it was that caused him to leave." Angela was trying to be supportive. She just didn't know all of the details about Jacob's departure from La Push. "I've got an idea. Why don't we head on out to Mike's place for a bit. Mike, Jess, Eric and I were going to watch some movies on the new big screen that his parents bought. He says the surround sound is to die for. I think they want to watch "Abduction" and some other movie. Something about a secret and a sacred totem. I don't remember the actual title but they both feature the same leading man." Mmm Taylor Lautner. So sexy!" Angela got that teen-aged girl dreamy look in her eyes. "I am sure they won't mind you joining in."

Sip. "Sounds like fun but I was hoping to just hang out here for awhile. Some of Jake's friends were going to pick me up so we can head to the junk yard and see if we can find the parts to fix my truck." Sip.

"That doesn't sound like fun. Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I don't like being without a vehicle. Reliant on the courtesy of others to chauffeur me around town. I like to be able to take off and go where ever I want to, whenever I want to." She knew in her heart that if her truck had been functional, she would have followed Jacob to Colorado. She couldn't explain away this odd feeling, this uncontrollable need, to have Jacob with her. Even if it just meant as friends. How dare he leave her. Didn't he know that she relied on him to be there for her? Sip.

"Well, I'll hang with you until your friends show up."

"Speak of the devil. Here comes Embry now." Bella pointed to the truck winding it's way up the road leading through the city park. "Hmm. I don't see Quil. Odd. Usually if you see one, the other isn't far behind." Bella snorted with a laugh.

"THAT is one of Jacob's friends?" Angela asked interestedly.

"Yeah. That's Embry Call. He's from La Push, same as Jake."

"Damn Girl! He's fine!" Angela peered over her sunglasses at the driver in the truck that was pulling up to the picnic bench that they were sitting at. Once he put the truck in park, Embry looked up at the two young women sitting at the bench and he let one of his ear to ear, sunshine filled smiles appear on his face. "Introduce me Bella!" The excitement in Angela's voice was obvious.

"Keep your pants on Ang! Geez!" Quiet laughter.

"Bella." Embry bounded up the hill to where the picnic bench was perched.

"Hey Em. Embry, this is my friend Angela Weber, Angie, Embry Call."

"Nice to meet you." Angie said at the same time Embry stated "Glad to meet you."

Both seemed to blush slightly. Silence hung in the air except for Bella's drinking noises. Sip.

Bella could see that both Angie and Embry were a bit uncomfortable with nothing to say, so she broke the silence.

"Where's Quil? I thought that you two always came as a pair?" She joked.

"Ah, well, he's still helping his parents out at the store. I thought that I would come get you and then we could pick him up afterwards, that way I wasn't leaving you waiting for too long."

"Very thoughtful." Angie injected. Embry blushed a bit more.

"Well, since you have a ride, I'll be heading off to Mike's for the movie. I hope to see you again Embry. It was nice to meet you." Angie flashed a moment of embarrassment as she realized that she was repeating her words from earlier.

"The pleasure was all mine Angela." Embry smiled.

"Angie, please." She corrected him.

"Angie." He gently grasped her hand and shook it.

Bella slammed the rest of her drink, tossed the cup in the trash receptacle and hopped into the passenger side of Embry's truck as Angela walked over and got into her car. She finger waved at Bella and Embry as both vehicles drove off. As they were headed towards La Push, Bella could feel the need to pee start to flutter in her belly. She ignored it at first.

"So what did Quil need to help out at the store for?" She inquired.

"He said something about helping out with sorting the inventory. He thought that it wouldn't take much more than an hour or so to get it done. I thought that we could hang out at the beach while we wait for him."

Beach. Rolling waves. Water. Splashing. The flutter in her belly turned into a desperate need.

"Ah, hey Em. I need you to find me a restroom soon. Too much tea." She gave him a fake smile, trying to cover the uncomfortable nature of her distress.

"Can't you just hold it 'til we get to the res? I can take you to my house. It's the closest place."

"I'll try." She shifted in the seat to try and find a more comfortable way to sit. Her leg began to bounce up and down in a nervous fashion.

They continued driving towards La Push. Embry was trying to distract Bella with inane conversation about a whole lot of nothing. She was focused more on her situation. After five more minutes of driving, she just couldn't wait.

"Em. Pull over please. I have to go. I can't wait any longer." She looked at him and he could see the desperation in her eyes.

"You just goin' to pee on the side of the road?" He scoffed.

"No. My plan is to run into the trees over there as long as you don't drive past them. Please stop."

"Ok nature girl. I'll stop."

"Thanks! You wouldn't happen to have any paper towels or napkins handy?" Embry's eyebrows raised up a bit.

"Well, let's see." He rifled through his door pouch's until he pulled out a handful of napkins from the local fast food joint. "Will these do?" He offered them to Bella. She snatched the wad of napkins out of his hand and hopped out of the truck before Embry had come to a complete stop. She half jogged into the trees that ran along the side of the road. She kept looking back to orient herself as to where the truck was parked. She didn't want to get lost. Once she was deep enough in the trees that she felt comfortable relieving herself, she dropped her pants and panties, squatted and moaned at the relief she felt. She used a few of the napkins to pat dry before she pulled her clothes back up. She took a sideways step to avoid the puddle that she had created. Unfortunately that step caused her to tumble down a leaf covered bank, right into a small creek. She was now covered in mud, leaves and twigs. Her clothes were soaked clear through.

"Dammit!" She squeaked. After a moment to collect her thoughts, she tried to crawl up the embankment. "Argh! All I wanted to do was take a pee for crying out loud!" The leaves made it very difficult so she followed the creek for a bit in a effort to find a spot that was easier to climb. When she did, she looked around and realized that she was disoriented. "Oh crap! Em!" She called out as loud as she could. She started to try and follow the edge of the embankment back to where she tumbled down but she hadn't paid any attention to how far down the creek bed she had actually walked. "EMBRY!" She called again. After about fifteen minutes of wandering around, she swore she heard her name.

"Bella?" Embry yelled out.

"Embry? EMBRY! OVER HERE!" She let out with a burst.

It only took a few minutes of Embry Bella calls, similar to the Marco Polo game, before they found each other. He stood still while she started to run. He was taking in the mess that she was. She launched herself into his arms when she got close enough. She began to sob into his chest. He nervously put his hands on her back and patted in an effort to give some comfort. He had red flags waving furiously in his head. "WARNING WARNING JAKE'S GIRL HANDS OFF!" was all he could hear. His hands moved up her small form and curled around her shoulders so he could gently push her away to look in her face. His warm cinnamon colored eyes peered into hers and picked up on the fear instantly. His facial features softened as he spoke.

"Hey there. I thought that you just needed to take a whiz. I didn't know this pit stop was going to turn into a day hike." He offered with humor in his voice.

"Funny Call. Real funny. I pulled a Bella and fell down into a creek bed. Now I smell like rotted leaves and dirt." She tried to laugh at herself but it came out more like a relieved huff. She wiped away the few stray tears.

"Let's get you to my house, huh? I am sure we can get you washed up in no time." He let go of her shoulders and turned to walk back to the truck when she grabbed his hand with both of hers and held it so tightly that it actually hurt. He looked at their hands linked together and felt the red flags waving again. She noticed his hesitancy and she qualified her actions.

"I am sticking to you like glue until we get back to the truck. I hope you don't mind."

"Um, no. Not at all. With your sense of direction, it would be best to stay close." He smiled. She smiled a small smile back. With his free hand, he reached over and tugged a few leaves and twigs from her hair and brushed some of the forest debris from her back. She tucked a small amount of her hair behind her ear while she let him clean her off. His warm hand felt good in hers. He seemed to soothe her frayed nerves. "Let's get back to the truck, shall we?" He said softly. She nodded.

They climbed into the truck and Bella slid across the bench seat to position herself right next to Embry. She sat so close to him that their thighs touched. She promptly grasped his right hand and resumed the tight hold that she had earlier. He didn't want to show her how uncomfortable her clinginess was for him so he just took in a deep breath, sighed it out and started his truck with his left hand. Good thing the truck was an automatic. He could still shift it into drive without much difficulty. They drove the rest of the way to his house in silence. He was thinking about what needed done for her to get cleaned up - she could shower if she wanted but she needed clean clothes more than anything. Did he have any that would fit her? She thought about how mortifying it was to get lost so quickly. She also thought about how good Embry looked when she first laid eyes on him in the forest. Tall, lanky yet buff. His shoulder length hair blowing gently around that stoic face. She couldn't believe how sexy he was. She had never looked at him in that way before. Since neither Edward nor Jacob wanted her, maybe just maybe, hmm...

Once inside the house, Embry showed her to the main bathroom. He scrambled through his dresser drawers and his closet for clothes small enough for Bella to wear. He found an old pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt that were a little larger than she needed but would have to suffice. He knocked on the door.

"Yes?"

"Bella. I have some clean clothes for you to change into and then we can get yours washed so you don't smell like old rotting forest."

"What? I smelled that bad? Why didn't you say something?" She was startled with that admission.

"I, um, it wasn't, um, I didn't, shit. Sorry Bella. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Please just take the clothes." He pounded the heel of his hand against his forehead. _Way to make her feel even more like crap you dickhead! _"Bella?"

The door slowly opened and she stuck her hand out to accept the clothes that he had. "Is it ok if I shower to get rid of the rotting forest smell?" She was almost indignant.

"Yeah Bella. Help yourself. My Mom's shampoo is in the closet there," he pointed to the small bathroom closet, "as well as her body wash. I don't think you want to use mine. Axe just isn't meant for women." He tried to make light of the situation.

She caught his uneasiness and tried to flirt with him. "Depends on how the scent gets on to the woman's skin Embry." Her eyebrows moved up and down provocatively.

"Um, ha, yeah. You're right." He choked out. "I'll leave you to it." He pulled the door closed and walked away as fast as he could. She smirked.

He could hear the water in the shower start as his cell phone rang. "H'lo?"

"Hey asshole! I thought that you would be here to pick me up!" Quil gruffed.

"I got a little sidetracked. It's a long story."

"Where are you now?"

"My house."

Quil quirked an eyebrow. "What are you doing there?"

"Bella needed to clean up."

"What! What the hell is Bella doing at your house that she needs to 'clean up'?" Quil emphasized the last part.

"I'll tell you when you get here."

"Oh. I get it. Make Quilly walk over so you have more make out time with Jake's girl?"

"Not even close you ass wipe. I don't know how long she'll be in the shower so just get your ass over here NOW." Embry was beyond pissed that Quil would jump to that conclusion about him and Bella.

"On my way pecker head. And don't you dare sneak a peak without me there! I want a peak too!" Embry could see the dirty look on Quil's face without Quil even being there. Embry let out a frustrated huff as he closed his phone. Ten minutes later, a heavy breathing, sweaty Quil came barging in the house. "Where's she at?" He asked between breaths.

"She's still in the bathroom. What did you do? Run the whole way over here?"

"So what if I did?" Quil challenged.

"Geez Quil. Horny much?"

"Fuck off Embry. You can blow whatever opportunity you might have handed to you to spend 'snuggle time' with Bella, but I won't."

"She's Jake's"

"Does she wear his ring? His tattoo? His bite marks? No. Unless she says different, she's fair game. If you don't want to claim her for yourself, then stand the fuck out of the way. Jacob wasn't smart enough to make her his. I'm not that dumb." Quil stated confidently.

"Where the hell do you get off thinking that you can 'claim' her?" Embry made air quotes.

"Since Jacob left and she's been hanging out with us. Can't you feel the connection there between her and me? I just have to help her see it is all."

"You are playing with fire Quil. If Jake finds out that you've been sniffing around Bella like a dog in heat, he'll kill you. Actually, he'll torture you first. Maybe hang you upside down by your balls, gut you, skin you alive and then kill you. Frankly, I'd pay money to watch him do that stuff to you because you weren't smart enough to keep your hands off of her." Embry glared at Quil.

Quil stood there, contemplating what Embry had said. He walked over to the couch and plopped down at one end while Embry slowly sat down at the other end. "I'm still going to give her the chance to play with Quilly anytime she wants." Quil smirked. Embry pinched his brow between his eyes in an effort to stop the pounding in his head. He knew no good could come of this mind set that Quil had.

Bella came out of the bathroom dressed in the clothes that Embry had provided. Good thing that the sweat pants had a draw string. She still had difficulty keeping them from slipping further down her hips than she felt comfortable. She had to hold on to the top of the sweats as she walked. "Em? Can we wash my clothes here or do we need to take them to my house?" She rounded the corner into the front room and stopped in her tracks when she laid eyes on Quil. She noticed the not so subtle way his eyes scanned her from head to toe several times. She didn't know if she needed to be embarrassed or proud as his eyes lingered on her chest. "Oh, hey Quil."

Embry jumped up from the couch, "We can wash them here if you want or I can take you home. It's up to you Bella."

"Here is fine. The only thing that I had planned today was to go to the junkyard with you guys anyways, so sitting around waiting for my clothes is no big deal for me." She looked him straight in the eyes, trying to read his thoughts about spending the day with her. Did he really mind and he was just being gentlemanly or did he enjoy having her in his house for an extended period of time? She couldn't get a read on him as he quickly darted down the hallway towards the utility room at the back of the house. He opened the washer and tossed all of her clothes into the washer at once. She gasped at the thought that her whites were being washed with her jeans and a red shirt. She was about to say something to stop him when she thought to herself, "_He didn't need to help you at all Bella. You can live with whatever happens to your clothes that he washes. Beggars can't be choosers." _Instead, after he added some laundry soap and started the washer, she stood in front of him and looked him in the eyes once again. This time she walked right up to him, put a hand behind his neck and drew it slowly to his jawline yet pulled on it to get him to bend down to her level some. "Thank you for helping me today Embry. I know that you didn't have to."

"I wasn't about to leave you out in the woods Bella." Red flags flying. "I was doing what anyone else wou...

She stopped his explanation with a gentle kiss. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. No tongue. No twisting heads. Just a simple press of the lips. She let it linger a little longer than she had wanted to in hopes that he would return the effort. Embry stood stock still because the fear that he had tried in vain to instill in Quil, was running through his veins a million miles a minute. Not only were there red flags flying, there were horns blowing, drums thumping and sirens going off. She is NOT doing this. The feel of her warm lips on his was mesmerising. For a moment he resisted but then he gave in, just a little. He pressed back. Her hand on his jaw pulled his face even closer. She broke the kiss only momentarily and then kissed him again. This time she tilted her head just a bit so she could have access to more of his mouth. He could feel the soft tip of her tongue on his lips. He started to pull back to break the kiss when she pushed her tongue into his mouth. _"Holy shit! She's frenching me! Bella Swan is french kissing me!" _He had only one other girl kiss him like this and it was awkward and fumbled. He let her flick his tongue with hers. The kiss deepened as he instinctively started to wrap his arms around her waist. He let out some soft moans at how good this kiss felt. She did the same, only she also began to run her free hand up, underneath his shirt so that she could feel his strong chest. Her fingers just happened to lightly graze across his nipple. He pushed her away so quickly that the broken kiss made a popping sound.

"We can't be doing that." He said, trying to catch his breath as he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth as if he could make the kiss disappear.

"Why Embry? Why can't we?" Bella was actually hurt by his rapid rejection.

"Because you're Jacob's girl. This is wrong." He started to tremble at the thought of how easy it was for him to cave in to her wiles.

"Since when have I been Jacob's girl? That's news to me Embry." She had a cross look on her face.

"I'm not going to talk about it any more." He took off out of the utility room like his heels were on fire. Perfect. Here comes Quil looking for them.

"What the hell guys? Did you forget that I was here? I've been waiting in the front room for you to start a friggin' load of laundry. How long does it take to get your washer going anyways Embry?" Quil had an angry look to his face while Embry had a guilty look to his. He hoped like hell that Quil didn't see the guilt in his eyes.

"It's started Quil. Let's just watch some TV while it gets done. OK?" Embry was terse. He continued into the front room. Quil just stood there, in the hallway, with a confused look on his face. What the hell did he do to deserve that reaction? Bella came out of the laundry room with her head down. As she approached Quil, she lifted her head to give him a simple smile. He noticed that her lips were a bit pinker and slightly swollen. The wheels started to turn in his head but lucky for Bella, his wheels turned slowly. When she got within arms reach, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a tight hug. She squeaked with surprise.

"How's my Bella today? He cheerfully asked.

"Fine now that I'm clean again." She smiled.

"How is it that you needed to take a shower at Embry's?"

"Hiking accident. I fell down an embankment right into a creek. I stunk to high heaven and needed to clean up." She prayed that he didn't want any further details. He buried his nose into her damp hair and drew in a long drawn out sniff. Twice. She pushed him away with a worried look on her face. "What the hell Quil? Did you just smell me?"

He gave her his charming crooked smile, leaned in and planted a loud smacking kiss on her cheek. "Can't have my girl smelling like the woods now, can we?"

Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Your girl? When did this happen Quil? I think I missed the memo." He continued to smirk at her.

"Hey, the way I see it, if Jake doesn't want to stick around to take care of you when you need him the most, then I will be happy to step up to take care of you." He leaned in to sniff her hair again.

"You are the only one that sees this thing with Jacob that way besides me Quil. Everyone keeps telling me that he left to better himself. I think that if he really did care for me that he would have stayed. He didn't need to go. He chose to go. Why would he do that to me?"

"I don't know Bella. If you were my girl, I would never leave for schooling. You would be so much more important to me than that." He looked directly into her chocolate eyes. She didn't quite know what to do with all these declarations that Quil was bestowing on her.

"Thanks Quil. It's nice to know that I have at least one person in my corner." She demurred. Her look shot lust straight to his groin. He was afraid that if she pulled away from him now, that she would see just how much she affected him. He deflected her attention by suggesting that they head to the front room to watch TV with Embry. As she walked in front of him down the hall, he excused himself to the bathroom. She walked to the living room and found it empty. Where the hell had Embry gone?

"Embry?" She called out half loud. She whirled around as she heard him come down the stairs. He was buttoning his jeans together. Odd.

"You hungry Bella? I'll call and have a pizza delivered if you want." Embry would not look her in the eye.

"Pizza is fine Embry. Only if you let me pay for it since you have gone out of your way to help me today."

"I didn't offer to order pizza just to make you pay for it Bella."

"I know you didn't Em. I want to." She couldn't understand why he was short of hostile to her. Yes they kissed and he said it was wrong, but this quiet anger he was displaying towards her had her baffled.

Embry went into the kitchen to place the order. He hoped that she could not detect the self anger that he had from the fact that the kisses that they had shared made him hard. He was glad that he wore a button up shirt with long tails, untucked, so that his erection was hidden from view. He had to go to his room and jack off to relieve his randiness. He promised himself that he would not let her charm do that to him again. She was Jake's girl as far as he was concerned. Jake's.

"Hey Quil?" He called from the kitchen. "What kind of pizza do you want?" No answer. He took a few steps into the living room to find Quil. He found Bella sitting in the middle of the couch with the remote in her hand, surfing the channels. "Where's Quil?"

"He said that he needed to use the bathroom." She answered without even breaking her concentration from the screen. Embry walked to the bathroom door, raised his hand to knock when he heard what sounded like grunts from the other side of the door. _Oh Hell no. He's not jacking off as well. What kind of spell does this girl have on us? _Embry decided that he would do the prudent thing and leave Quil alone and order whatever type of pizza he wanted and to hell with everyone else.Several minutes later, Quil emerged from the bathroom with a satisfied look on his face. He walked over and sat next to Bella on the couch. He looked at her with renewed lust in his eyes even though she didn't acknowledge him. She was glued to a cooking show on the Food Channel. He nonchalantly put his arm behind her, across the back of the couch. He took a hank of hair and rolled it between his fingers. He enjoyed the softness of her hair.

When Embry was done ordering the pizzas, he thought that two would be better considering his and Quil's appetite, he walked into the living room and sat in the empty space on the couch. He shot Quil daggers from his eyes at the blatant moves that Quil was using on Bella. The argument between them from earlier was still at the front of each of their minds. Embry decided to fuck with Quil a little by putting his arm behind Bella as well, directly in front of Quil's arm. Quil shot the same daggers back at Embry. This wordless fight continued for half an hour or so, until the pizzas arrived. Bella hopped up, holding the top of her too big pants, and strolled over to the door with her purse in her free hand. She set the purse down, rustled through it until she found her checkbook. She wrote the check out for five bucks more than what the pizzas cost for a tip for the driver. Embry came over and took the pizzas from the delivery boy and set them on the kitchen table. As they began to dig into the pizzas, Bella's cell phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her purse and looked at the caller ID.

"Hmm. Same number as before." She said to herself.

"What?" Embry quizzed.

"I got a call from this number earlier today. Just as I was answering it they hung up on me. I don't recognize the number. I don't know if it's just a prank or not." She looked perplexed.

"I'll handle it." Embry stated sternly. He flipped the phone open.

"Hello. Who is this?" Just as stern.

"Who the hell is this? I'm looking for Bella." Came the voice on the other end.

"Jake?" Embry swallowed hard.

"Embry? What the hell are you doing with Bella's phone?" Jake was none too happy.

"She didn't recognize the calling number so she let me answer it for her." Embry was getting nervous

"Can I talk to her Em? I only have so much time before I don't have cell service." Jake asked hurriedly.

"Ah yeah, sure Jake. Here she is." Embry handed the phone to Bella who had wandered into the kitchen to get a piece of pizza. Just as she took a mouthful of pizza, she took the phone from Embry and tried to talk around her full craw.

"Hewwo?"

"Bella."

Cough, cough, spit, hack... "Jacob!" She was elated!

"You OK? Sounds like you were choking there."

"I'm better than fine now! Was that you that tried to call me earlier today?"

"Yeah I did. Sorry about that. I got distracted by some stuff that my boss was doing. You're not mad at me are you?" He had a worried tone to his voice.

"Nah. I didn't recognize the phone number that you called from, so I didn't know if it was a wrong number or a prank or what. I figured that if it was important, whoever it was would call back. Guess I was right." She could not hide the delight in her voice.

"Guess you know me too well Bella. What have you been up to since I left?"

"Just hanging with Embry and Quil. Since I don't have a vehicle, I am kind of at whoever's mercy to take me out to do things. I feel lucky that Embry has been so flexible with his schedule to tote me around when I need." She wandered out to the porch that ran the length of the front of the house. She pulled up a chair and sat outside while Embry and Quil stayed inside. Both seemed to have lost their appetite. The TV was on but the volume was not very loud. They both listened intently to Bella's side of the conversation.

"I guess I should be glad that Em is helping you out. I am sorry that I'm not there to be the one to help you Bella. I do miss seeing your smile." His admittance surprised her. She really didn't think that he would think twice about her while he was gone. "I heard that Em and Quil were trying to help you fix your truck. Is it even fixable?"

"The mechanic at Forks Automotive said that it would be cheaper to replace the whole engine instead of pulling it apart and re-machining the block and there was other mechanic gobbledy gook that he was trying to explain to me. We've been on the lookout for a good used engine to replace my broken one. Charlie doesn't know that that is what we are trying to do."

"Yes he does." Jake said flatly.

Bella's eyes got wide. "How!"

"Your helpers aren't exactly subtle Bella. Dad knows what they are up to. If Dad knows, Charlie knows." She could feel her cheeks get blazing red. She really wanted to do this repair on her own. At least not have Charlie involved. "Maybe you would be better off using your money as a down payment on a new car Bella. It might be time for Big Red to retire."

"Big Red?"

"Sorry. My boss has names for all of the ranch vehicles. Her way of keeping things straight with the students that come through. I guess that little quirk is rubbing off on me." Jacob laughed at that thought.

"But Jake, that truck is the one that Charlie got from you... er... Billy for me. I love it. I don't want to give up on it yet." She was unsettled at the thought of not having that truck. The only piece of Jacob that she might ever have.

"We'll have to talk about it later Bella. I'm about to drive into the foothills here and once I'm there, no cell service. I'll give you a call the next time we get to the front range, OK?" Jacob's voice was forlorn.

"Ok Jacob. Call me when you can. I'll be here waiting." Her voice was also forlorn.

"Thanks for watching over Billy for me. I appreciate all that you are doing for him Bella. Tell Charlie I said hi as well."

"I will Jacob. Take care of ... " The call was dropped. Bella looked at her phone and slowly closed it. She wondered how long it was going to be before she spoke to Jacob again. She rose up out of the chair and slowly walked back into the house. She picked up the plate that held her pizza. She grabbed a can of Pepsi from the counter where Embry had set out a few. She walked over to the couch and sat between the two young men that were looking at her with questions in their eyes. Neither one was brave enough to ask about Jacob as he was on their minds as well, only in a different capacity. Embry was scared shitless about kissing Bella and Quil was challenging Jake's claim on Bella. All three began to eat their pizza while they blankly watched the TV, all the while thinking of their missing friend.

An hour later, Embry switched Bella's laundry into the dryer. While her clothes were drying, she let herself fall asleep on the couch between the silently warring Quileutes. Quil gently tugged on her arm to get her to fall on his chest as he still had his arm behind her head. Embry, not wanting to disturb her nap, stood up and walked over to Quil and gave him a Gibbs slap to the back of the head.

"HEY!" Quil said pissed.

"I told you to keep your hands off of her Quil. What do you think Jake would do if he walked in right this very minute? Huh? He would be pissed." Embry barked but kept it as quiet as he could so as to not wake her.

"Let him get mad Em. I don't care. He is the one that left. Not me." Quil growled.

"He had an education opportunity that fell in his lap that I would kill for Quil. I don't blame him for going at all. If anything I am jealous that he is doing what he is doing."

"What, learning to be a goat roper and maybe some yodelling lessons?" Quil was not in a mood to discuss Jacob.

"Aren't you being a little pissy missy Quil. Jacob is learning how to manage a huge operation as well as all the small day to day stuff. Why are you so down on what he is doing?" Embry could not understand Quil's attitude towards what Jake was doing.

"I'm not down on it. I just don't think that he should have left. We all could have used a program like that. Why did it only fall in Jacob's lap?"

Embry now understood Quil's defiance towards Jacob. He was also jealous about this opportunity that Jake had that they didn't. Embry's anger at Quil lessened but he still didn't like Quil's handsy attitude towards Bella. Embry swore to himself, right then and there, that he would keep Bella safe as he had promised to Jake that he would. Even if that means from Quil. He sighed to himself as he went to check on her clothes.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

That Summer

About half your troubles come from wanting your way; the other half come from gettin' it.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

After two weeks of Lynn's way to enthusiastic wake up calls, Jacob was starting to become accustomed to her early morning routine. Without much ado, he decided that now was as good a time as any for a little payback. Before they turned in for the night, he snuck into her bathroom and took all of her soap products and hid them in the coat closet downstairs. When he bid her a good night, it was all he could do to keep a straight face. When she awoke the next morning, she went into the bathroom, reached in and turned the shower on to let the water warm. Without looking, she stripped off her pajamas and stepped into the shower. She let the warm water cascade over her body. She wet her hair completely. She then reached for the nonexistent shampoo. Her hand swiped through the air where the bottle had previously been located. As she opened her eyes to figure out what the heck was wrong, she said to herself, "What the...?" As she scanned the corners of the tub, the realization that all her cleaning products were gone hit her like a ton of bricks. She wiped her hands over her face to clear away the water streams that were running over her cheeks and through her eyelashes.

She quietly laughed to herself, "That little shit. I hope that he doesn't think that he's going to get to sleep in now. Oh Honey, payback is a bitch." She did all she could do, she rinsed herself off with nothing more than water. She wrapped herself in a big fluffy towel, put on her old flannel robe over the towel, filled the cup that was on the vanity with cold water and promptly went to Jacob's room to give him an even earlier wake up call.

No knocking, no sweet 'wakey wakey', no nothing. She barged right in with the glass ready to douse Jacob when she noticed that he wasn't in the bed. "What the hell?" As she turned to leave the room, she bumped right into Jacob, who just so happened to be standing behind her. As she collided with Jake's strong chest, the glass of cold water splashed down the front of her. She sucked in a quick measure of air into her lungs. All she could think about was getting out of the cold wet clothes because the robe and towel together were working quite well at holding all of that cold water against her torso.

"You lookin' for me?" He asked with a devilish smirk on his face.

"Y-y-you l-little t-trickster." She stuttered. She still had not regained her breath.

"Are you talking about mwa?" He replied, chuckling.

"Get out of my way Jacob." She shoved him aside so that she could get down the hallway to her room and get out of those wet wraps. She was untying the sash to the robe and let it hit the floor. Jacob swallowed hard as he noticed that all she was wearing was a towel and she was pulling at that now. She turned and slammed her bedroom door, not realizing that it did not close completely. In fact, it had bounced open just a few inches. He stood outside the bedroom door when he heard her yelling, "Think you're funny, don't cha?"

"I don't have to think Lynn, I know!"

"You've heard that paybacks are a bitch, right," She was rustling around through her clothes drawers looking for something to wear all the while Jacob was not trying to peek through the cracked door.

"Yeah I have. What'cha got in mind?"

"Like I'm going to tell you, pfftt."

Jacob couldn't help himself, after all, he was a healthy young male. He peeped into her room just as she was walking into her bathroom. He got a good glimpse of her feminine form angling away from him as she carried her clean clothes to change into. He got an eyeful. His eyes scanned her from head to toe. The long swan like neck. The strong, firm shoulders and arms. The roundness of the side boob he could see. The gentle curve to her back. The perfect pear shape of her ass. The long line of her muscular legs. His dick was so hard it hurt. He took in a few stuttered breaths before he spoke.

"I'm going to head out to the barn and feed for you while you get dressed." He wasn't sure if he had time to take things in hand before she was done dressing, so he figured that he just needed to exit the situation before his predicament became common knowledge.

"I'll meet you out there as soon as I'm done." Lynn shouted, not realizing that her door had been cracked slightly ajar the whole time. When she was done getting dried off and dressed, she went to leave her room and noticed her door. She stood there for a moment and didn't know what to make of the situation

Jacob flew down the stairs and out into the crisp morning air in what felt like three strides. He kept repeating to himself, "She's my boss. She's my boss. She's my boss." He then started talking out loud to himself. "Puppies, Mariners, Seahawks, school, ice cream …..mmm ice cream smeared all over her... dammit! This isn't working. I can't have her find me with my prick so hard I could pound nails. Argh." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

When she arrived at the barn, she poked her head in the stall that Jacob had busied himself in cleaning. He kept his back to her.

"I'm going to need your help loading the flatbed trailer with some fencing supplies as soon as you are done here in the barn." She said matter-of-factly.

"Sure sure. I have three more stalls to get to first." He said over his shoulder, still refusing to face her directly. She never picked up on his unease.

"That's fine. Don't be long though. I'm making pancakes for breakfast and I don't like to eat them cold. "I'll go get those started and see you in a few?"

"Sure sure." Jacob slowly relaxed as he was sure she knew not of his issue. She turned and headed back into the house.

He walked to the end of the isle-way in the barn and watched her as she entered the house through the back porch. At that point, he let out a low pitched growl, wheeled around on his boot heel and walked straight into the small bathroom in the barn. He was busy undoing his jeans as he was walking. Once he got into the bathroom, he made sure that the door was locked. He didn't want any chance at all of her walking in on him. He found a bottle of hand lotion on the shelf above the toilet. He dropped his jeans and boxer briefs to the tops of his boots and then poured an ample amount of lotion in his hand and began to work his cock in long, slow strokes. He fluttered his thumb over the blood engorged tip on every upstroke. His hand worked his shaft in a twisting motion to help heighten the pleasurable feeling. He leaned on the counter with his left hand while his right hand worked. He closed his eyes and thought back to the images of Lynn's nude body. He had never seen a real woman naked before. Oh sure, he had seen more than his fair share of nudie magazines and porn on the Internet, but never had he laid eyes on naked woman flesh. All he could think of was how smooth her skin looked and how much he wanted to touch it. That sexy as shit neck. That perfect ass. Her tits were so full and round. Those long, lean thighs. He could easily see those fine, fine legs wrapped around him while he's drilling her hard.

It was the combination of all of those thoughts and his self pleasuring that brought him to release. He was only coherent enough to grab some tissue before he blew in his hand. After the last spurt, he looked to make sure that the lid on the toilet was closed as he needed a place to sit because his legs could no longer support him at the moment. He let out a very satisfied groan as he sat down. He sat there for several minutes, waiting for his brain to reboot after experiencing one of his best orgasms ever. Once his breathing returned to normal and his brain began to function again, he looked around the bathroom for a way to clean himself up. He stood and threw the used tissues into the crapper. He found a package of baby wipes in the cabinet.

"Baby wipes? Why would she have these?" He spoke softly to himself. "Don't complain Jacob. These will work perfectly."

He pulled a few wipes from the container and proceeded to wash off his sated cock. "Damn. Sensitive." He hissed.

"Jacob!" He heard Lynn call from outside the barn.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" He whispered in a half panicked state. "In the bathroom." He called back to her.

She knocked softly on the door before she asked, "Everything OK in there?"

"Yep! Just fine!" He blurted quickly.

"OK. Sorry. You didn't show up for breakfast and I thought that maybe you were having some difficulty. I came out to see if I could lend a hand." She heard Jacob groan.

"Thanks Lynn. I'm just answering nature's call is all." He hoped that she would just go back into the house. He finished wiping up, threw the baby wipes into the trash, pulled up his britches and flushed the toilet to seal his cover story. He was zipping and buttoning up his pants as he opened the door with Lynn still standing there. He had a flash of thought.

"You can help me put my pants back together again if you'd like." He smirked.

Her face flushed so red, she was sure that the polar ice caps melting was her fault. She choked out, "Thanks for the offer but I think I'll pass." She turned and damn near ran back to the house, calling over her shoulder, "Breakfast is ready."

Jacob chuckled. He thought to himself, "Damn that blushing is sexy as hell. Lynn blushes as easily as Bella." Then his mood shifted from flirty to guilty. He had just whacked off to his naked boss' body when he was in love with Bella. He thought back to the hand job he gave himself in her bathroom the morning that he left for Colorado. Again with the guilt. This release was so much better than that one. He chalked it up to only imagining what Bella looked like naked instead of the actual eyeful of flesh he got this morning. "Stop thinking of it you shithead!" He shouted at himself. "You're going to give yourself another hard on if you don't stop now!" He banged his head on the door jamb a couple of times before he walked out of the barn and went to the house for breakfast.

After a very quiet meal, they both walked out to the quonset where the truck that was needed was kept. As they walked past the shed row, Jacob pointed to the old truck under the tarp and asked, "So why is this truck out here when all the rest are in the shed over there?"

"What? Oh, umm, that truck needs more mechanical work than I could afford to take care of, so it got parked out of the way."

"Would you like me to take a look at it for you?" Jacob offered with an eager tone.

"You know mechanical stuff?"

"Yeah. Didn't Charlie tell you anything about me besides my love for food?"

She laughed. "He told me lots of things. Just not that you were a grease jockey."

"Hey now. Watch the name calling." He winked at her with a smile.

"Maybe you can look under the hood when we get back from fixing fence today."

"Sounds like a plan Lynn. Now I will really be in my element."

"Has working on a ranch been harder than you thought?" She inquired, truthfully worried that Jacob was not enjoying his stay.

"Nah. Not at all. I'm just saying that I love working on anything mechanical. I seem to have a natural flair for it. I totally rebuilt the motor in a truck that my friend Bella drives. She did have the misfortune of blowing up all my hard work shortly before I came to the ranch."

"Blowing up?" Lynn scowled

"Yeah. She didn't pay attention to her oil consumption. Ran the motor out of oil. Seized it but good." Jacob was shaking his head back and forth. "She just doesn't think of things like that."

"Sorry that she didn't take care of it after all the effort that you put into it."

"She doesn't take care of a lot of things that I put effort into." He thought that he said that quietly enough that Lynn couldn't hear. He was wrong.

"Care to elaborate on that one Jake?"

"Ah, no." He almost blushed.

"You care for her as more than just a friend, don't you Jake?"

"Always have Lynn. Don't remember a time that I didn't. Problem is, she doesn't feel the same way back and I don't know what to do about it. I know that I'm important to her but she doesn't see me as anything more than a friend, or worse, a brother."

"Have you told her your feelings?"

"I've tried. I think that I am just not saying the right thing. Or she refuses to hear me. I mean really HEAR me. I told her not to date this last guy she was with, but did she listen? No. She got dumped hard by him, of course after he got what he really wanted from her. Dammit. I don't want to talk about it." Jacob huffed out in anger.

Lynn could actually feel the mood shift in Jacob. She put her hand on his arm and softly spoke. "Jake, if she isn't smart enough to hear what it is that you had to say concerning you and her, then maybe being away for awhile is a good thing. Give her some time to reflect on everything that you have said to her. Give her some time to process it all. She'll come around. If she doesn't then maybe..." She gave his arm a few reassuring squeezes, "...she isn't the one for you. To me, it just sounds like she needs to grow up. She sounds like she is acting rather childish. I am not one to judge since I have never met her. I just know that if I had a friend as dedicated to me as you are to her, I would keep him forever."

"You do." Jacob laughed.

"I do? Who?"

"Ken."

"I told you Jake. We tried being boyfriend and girlfriend. It just worked out better as friends."

"You keep telling yourself that Lynn. Maybe one day that will be the truth." Jacob playfully leered in her direction.

"Shut up you, and get the truck hooked to the flatbed before I have you washing the stallion's penis."

"What? Why would I do that?" Jacob had a panicked look on his face.

Lynn smirked and chuckled, "I have a couple mares that need bred and his penis has to be cleaned between breedings. There are hundreds of thousands of men that handle stallions every year. You won't be the first male to wash a stallion and you won't be the last."

"I think I'll pass, thanks." He nervously huffed.

"Sorry Jake, but no passes on this one. Remember what I said about paybacks?" She winked.

"NO FRICKIN' WAY!" He spouted in half hearted outrage.

"Yes frickin' way." Was her only reply. Other than the deep chested giggles she couldn't hold back. Jacob groaned loudly.

They hooked the truck to the trailer and pulled along side of the pile of new fence poles, spools of wire, post hole diggers, tampers, and other assorted fencing tools and supplies. They loaded up a large supply of materials, secured it down, and then headed out towards the north pastures. As they drove past the quonsut, Lynn stopped the truck, got out and told Jake, "I'll take the ATV so that we don't have to drive the truck back and forth so much. I'll also get the walkie talkies so we can communicate if need be."

Jake just shrugged and scooted over to the driver's seat in the truck. As soon as Lynn drove out of the shed, she led the way to the fence line that needed repaired. The truck was parked a few yards away from the work area. They began to unload some of the supplies. Jake and Lynn pulled a string between the two posts that had already been set in the ground last year. They were just over one hundred feet apart. The string was a guide to keep the fence posts in a straight line.

After setting a dozen posts, Lynn and Jake took a break. They both wandered over to the truck and cracked open water bottles. The cool drink felt wonderful on such a warm morning. Jacob, being male, shucked off his t-shirt to continue in the heat as it was a sure thing that it was going to be a scorcher today. He wiped his face off with his shirt.

Lynn tried not to choke on the mouthful of water that she had just taken. She tried her damnedest not to ogle Jacob's body. The natural tawny color to his skin was absolutely exquisite. The way his muscles moved under the skin was mesmerizing. His strong back and arms. His broad shoulders. Thin waist. His chest and abdominals. She had to close her eyes for a moment or two, just so he wouldn't bust her staring. She felt a wet sensation between her legs. That made her eyes pop open. She hadn't felt like that in years. In a controlled chaos kind of way, she excused herself saying that she needed to head back to the house to get lunch started and that Jake could unhitch the trailer and leave it when it was time for him to come in for lunch. She would call him on the walkie talkie when lunch was ready. She jumped on the four wheeler and flew from the area like her pants were on fire. After looking at and ogling Jake, they were!

About half an hour passed before she called him on the handheld. "Jake."

"Lynn." Sarcastically.

"You ready for lunch?"

"Have you met me yet Lynn?"

"Har har Jake. Get to a stopping point and come on in."

"Ten four good buddy."

Lynn was just about to make a snarky reply back when Jake's voice came back with nervousness in it. "Lynn, did they ever get that bear?"

"What bear?" She asked before the realization of the situation hit her.

"JAKE! Get in the truck now! Don't argue!" She flew into the office and opened up the gun safe to pull out her dad's 308 rifle. She grabbed a box of cartridges and ran out the door so fast the dogs almost got closed in. She hopped on the ATV and raced off to where Jacob was with the dogs running as hard as they could behind her. Her heart would not stop racing.

"Not again. Not again. Not again." She kept repeating in an effort to not break down in tears.

As she rounded the corner to where they had been working on the fence line earlier, she found Jake standing on the driver's side foot rail with her varmint rifle aimed at the tree line.

"JACOB!" She screeched. He turned his head to see her barreling up on the ATV. "Don't shoot him with that rifle Jake. It's too small. It'll only piss him off. Where is he Jake?"

"I'm not sure if it's him or not Lynn. There is a bear. It just hasn't noticed me yet."

"Yes it has Jake. They have excellent smell. That bear knows we're here." While they were assessing the situation, the dogs finally made it to the location. Gimpy was the first to pick up on the scent of the bear. His hackles stood up and he started growling and barking before Angus figured it all out. He joined in as soon as he smelled the bear too. They both stood guard in front of the humans. Jacob pointed. "There it is Lynn. By that dead pine tree over there."

She jacked in three rounds into the rifle. Closed the bolt, flicked off the safety and drew the bear into her sights on the scope. She watched the bear sniffing around the base of the tree. It dug at the roots a bit, looking for something to eat. Bugs or berries perhaps. She kept her cross-hairs on it for quite some time. She was not sure if this was the right bear or not. The bear turned it's head to look in the direction of the barking dogs. It was only then that Lynn noticed that both ears were intact. This was not the man-eater. She lowered her rifle, flicked the safety back on and told Jake, "Go ahead and shoot above that one. Aim high and hit the tree. That should scare it off."

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yeah. That's not the one that killed Topher." She let out a sigh. Jacob let off two rounds above the bear. Pip. Pip. The bear scampered off into the woods like Jake had actually hit it. Lynn watched the rounds hit the tree ten feet above the bear. "Guess I need to start calling you 'Dead Eye Black." She turned towards Jake and began to walk over to where he was when Gimpy took off to the left of where they all standing.

"Gimpy! Get back here!" Lynn called out, unsure as to why the dog ran off in that direction. Angus just stood there and barked. "GIMPY! COME!" She tried whistling. Nothing worked. She had a bad feeling wash over her.

Jacob tried calling for the dog. "Gimpy! Here boy!" Still no response. After a minute or two, listening to the sounds surrounding them, Lynn and Jacob heard what sounded like a dog fight.

"Should we go check out what's happening?" Jacob looked at her with worry on his face.

"I don't know Jake." She set the rifle down on the flatbed, walked around to the passenger side of the truck, opened the door and withdrew a pair of binoculars. She glassed the treeline to see if she could locate Gimpy. It only took twenty seconds before the bear with the white patch and the chunk missing from his left ear came charging through the underbrush into the clearing.

Everything went into slow motion at that point.

The bear was headed straight for Lynn.

Jacob drew a bead on the bear with his .22 rifle and fired. Pip.

The round hit the bear in the shoulder, wounding it and making it that much more angry.

Gimpy was running after the bear. As he got beside the bear he lunged for the throat only to be bitten by the bear, crushing his ribs. He yipped in pain.

Angus ran in circles barking.

Lynn dropped to the ground the moment Jacob fired as she was down range of his shooting. He fired off another four rounds. Pip. Pip. Pip. Pip. Each hitting the bear but not stopping him. She tried to crawl towards the trailer, where she had set her rifle down.

The bear reached Lynn and started to bite her back, buttocks and legs. She began to scream.

Jacob jumped down from the truck to get to her rifle.

He grabbed the rifle, drew a bead on the bear's body. The bear's head was too close to Lynn to shoot. He pulled the trigger and heard, 'click'. The safety had done it's job.

He pushed the button forward on the action to reveal a red dot indicating that the rifle was now hot. Ready for live fire.

He drew a bead again. ** Blam**. The first round hit. He pulled the bolt up and back.

_Click slide._ The spent shell was expelled from the action, _tink_, and a fresh cartridge entered.

He pushed the bolt forward and down to lock it in place. _ Slide click._

He drew on the bear again. **Blam.**

He did it one more time as that was the last round loaded. ** Blam.**

The din of the bear attack quieted.

Jacob stood there, chest heaving from excited breathing.

Lynn had stopped screaming as she laid there motionless on the ground.

Gimpy had stopped whining.

Angus had stopped barking.

The bear stopped living.


	10. Chapter 10

Once again, my betas ROCK! Thank you ladies. And as for my readers, I apologize for the delay. Have you ever been 'derailed' from a project? I have. Sucks. I hope you enjoy! XOXO

That Summer

Chapter Ten

There is a charm about a man who is wild. Don't fall for it.

Meanwhile... back in Forks...

"I don't know. How about goin' to the movies?"

"Will we be going as a group?"

"Do you want to go as a group, Embry? I was hoping to spend some quiet time with you today."

"We don't have to go as a group. I was just thinking that maybe you'd like to have your friends come along."

"Are you afraid to be alone with me Em?"

He cleared his throat, "No. I'm not afraid Bella. I just thought that it would be nice to go with a group of friends is all. The more the merrier kind of thing, ya know?"

"To be truthful Em, I don't really like to hang with my friends anymore. All they do is look at me with pity in their eyes and say 'I told you so' because of what Edward did to me. Makes me feel inferior, used."

"I'm sure that they don't mean to make you feel that way Bella, and besides, that girl that you introduced to me a few weeks ago seemed nice enough. She surely wouldn't rub an 'I told you so' in your nose, would she?"

"Who Angie? No, I guess not. She is the exception to the rule, but I still don't have anyone except you Em."

"Bella. Yes, you do. You have Angie and Quil and Jacob..."

"Don't you include Jacob in that group. He hasn't called or e-mailed me in over two weeks." She was seething at the sound of his name.

"Bella. We have been over this a thousand times. He didn't leave you. He took a job that is going to help insure that he gets into college. Since neither you nor I have ever worked on a ranch before, how can we judge how often he can call us? Be reasonable Bella. He will call you. I promise."

"Embry, please just come pick me up so we can hang out. Dad and Billy have invited some other friends over to watch the baseball game on TV and if I have to listen to all of that whooping and hollering along with all the belching and farting, I swear, I'll just scream."

"Not much of a sports fan Bella?" Embry was soft but chiding.

"No Em. Remember? Ginormous klutz here. I just want to spend some quite time away from the house. I haven't left the house in a week." She did not want to admit that she had stayed home tending to the daily chores in hope that, on the off chance, Jacob would call and she would be there to answer the phone.

"Alright. I'll be over in half an hour maybe forty five at the most. Ok?"

"Thanks Em. See you soon." She felt the anger at Jacob begin to leave her being. She closed her cell phone, tossed it on her bed and began to get ready for her date with Embry. At least that is what she had in her head as to what was going on. He, on the other hand, had other ideas.

Embry scrolled down his contact list and punched send when he came to the right name. He waited as the call connected. Three rings later, "Hello?"

"Hey Leah. It's Embry."

"Embry who?"

"How many Embry's do you know Leah? Embry, Embry Call, Seth's friend."

"Seth has friends? Since when?"

"Since he was a freshman at school Leah. Is he around? Can I talk to him?" Embry was getting frustrated with Seth's sister. She could be such a cold fish when she wanted to be.

"Yeah. Just a minute. I think I saw him out back. Not sure what he's doing. Hang on for a sec." She dropped the receiver to the counter with an unceremonious thunk and the next thing Embry heard was Leah calling out at the top of her lungs, "Seth! Phone!" And then he heard her walking away. He waited what seemed to be hours but was really just a minute or two. No other sounds could be heard. "Hello? Seth? Hellloooo? Anybody there?" Embry called into the phone as if someone walking by might hear his voice. He then heard the back door creak as it opened and then slammed shut as footsteps came closer to the phone on the counter.

"Hello? Is there someone there?" Seth's boyish voice came across the line.

"Seth! It's Embry, dude. You had me worried that you wouldn't pick up."

"Embry! What's up Bud?"

"Seth, I was just wondering if you had anything to do this afternoon?"

"Nothing set in stone, why? You bored? I was outside playing with my new radio controlled plane that Dad bought for me. You can come over and fly it for a while if you want." The eagerness in Seth's voice was addictive. Embry couldn't help but smile at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Maybe some other time Seth. I was just wondering if you would like to go to the movies today. With some friends. I can swing by to pick you up in five minutes if you want."

"Dude! That sounds like a plan! I'll tell Mom what we're going to do and meet you out front in five!" Seth hung up the phone before Embry could say good bye.

Embry knew that by taking Seth along, Bella wouldn't be so inclined to be quite so forward with him. She was constantly trying to hold his hand or sneek a kiss or two when she thought that no one was looking. Quil was still holding strong to his theory that she was fair game. It just so happened to work out that Quil had to work today at his parent's store. That was one set of wandering hands that Embry didn't have to worry about. Seth's presence should squelch Bella's. At least he hoped it would.

Embry pulled up in front of the Clearwater's place just as Seth burst through the door. Seth ran to the passenger side of the truck, yanked on the door and jumped in the seat in one smooth motion. The smile on his face went from ear to ear. Embry patted Seth on the shoulder in a brotherly fashion, returning the smile. They then headed towards Forks.

Bella was putting the finishing touches to her appearance when she heard Charlie holler up the stairs. "Hey Bells. Someone's here to pick you up!"

"Thanks Dad!" She shouted through the closed door. She ran her hands over her hair one more time to settle any unruly strands. She leaned into the mirror to give a close inspection of her make up. She didn't use much. A little mascara and lip gloss. She was of the 'less is more' mind set. She cupped both boobs on the sides and pushed them together in an effort to maximize her cleavage in the shirt she was wearing. She tugged the shirt down to help with the effort. When she was done primping for her non-date with Embry, she bounded down the stairs as fast as she dared so that she didn't break a leg on the way down. She walked around the corner to enter the living room where the group of adults had gathered for the Mariners game and stopped in her tracks. She knew her dad was entertaining a few of the other officers from his office and Billy had invited several mutual friends from the reservation, but she wasn't expecting there to be any women in the group.

"Bella!" Came the cheery voice of Tami, the receptionist at the police station. "So nice to see you again!"

"Um, thanks Tami. Nice to see you again too." Bella's eyes began to scan the room looking for Embry.

"So I hear that ya'll are headed to the movies? Sounds like fun!" Her sweet accent shining through.

"Yeah, I'm going with Embry Call. I thought that he was here to get me already." Bella was concerned that she hadn't found him yet even though Charlie said that he was here.

"I do believe he is Bella. He's just lost in deep conversation with your Dad and his friend Billy in the kitchen. I can get them for you Darlin' if you'd like." Tami was radiating sunshine.

"Ahh, no thanks Tami. I'll go. You enjoy that game Girl! Are they at least winning?" Bella fained interest.

"So far Sugarplum. But it is only the third inning so there can always be an upset. Ya never know, do ya?" Tami giggled some. At that time Charlie, Billy, Harry, Seth and Embry came out of the kitchen. Seth was pushing Billy's chair back to the normal place where he had the best viewing of the TV. Everyone else was carrying bowls of snack foods, chips, dip, pretzels, nachos, popcorn. Bella's eyes went wide when Billy pulled his chair closer to where Tami was sitting and then he gently took her hand in his and gave it a sweet peck on the back of her knuckles. She blushed and giggled like a school girl. Still holding hands, she drew their connected hands to her lips and placed the same sweet kiss to the back of his hand.

"Make sure that Seth gets home at a decent time Embry. He still has chores to get done around the house." Harry's voice boomed. At that point, Bella's eyes broke from the hand holding scene to notice that Embry was walking towards her with Seth following.

"You bet Mr. Clearwater. I'll make sure he gets home safe." Embry was confident.

"Bella too, Embry." Charlie added.

"You know that I will sir."

"Sir? Leave that for 'Chief Swan' Embry. Right now I'm just Charlie."

"Charlie." Embry gave a quick nod towards Billy as well. He then glanced at Bella, raised his eyebrows with an unspoken question of her readiness and started walking towards the door. Bella responded with a quick nod. She, Embry and Seth all hopped into the truck with her sitting in the middle.

They arrived at the cineplex with more than a half hour to spare before the movie was to begin. They bought some snacks while they were waiting. Bella's eyes grew wide as she took note of the massive amount of junk food those two Quileutes thought that they could pack away. She just smiled softly and laughed under her breath. While she was having fun tossing popcorn at each of the boys, seeing who could catch the most with their mouth, she caught motion out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to notice a group of three men walk into the lobby of the movie theater. Embry noticed where her focus had shifted to, and turned his head as well. He sat up straighter and his body tensed when he recognized who the three men were. He studied Sam, Jared and Paul for a moment only because he noticed that Bella's attention was still diverted to them.

"Who are those guys Em?" She kept watching them as they talked about which movie to see.

"Those are some of the older guys from the rez Bella. The taller one is Sam."

"He's supposed to be my sister's boyfriend but rumor has it, he's been dating our cousin from the Makah rez." Seth added with disdain in his voice. The look on his face was so stern that Bella actually swore to never make Seth mad at her for fear that he would use that look on her. It was scary to see such an angry, hurt look on someone so young and kind.

"Well Seth," Bella tried to ease the situation, "he doesn't look like he's with anyone else right now. Except for those other guys. Is that something to be worried about?"

"The only one in that group that anyone should worry about is Paul. He is the reservation's Don Juan. He is the 'player extraordinaire'. He's made great sport out of taking from women and then leaving them wanting more." Embry thought about his first real crush and how she didn't even know that he existed once she laid eyes on Paul. He felt himself let out a low growl as his eyes settled on Paul.

"I just hope that Sam doesn't turn out to be just like him." Seth said before he took a long pull on his soda.

"They're just a bunch of loser dickwads if you ask me." Embry stated. His gaze still turned on the three men who seemed oblivious to the trio that were studying them.

"Which one is that? The one with the earring." Bella's curiosity was about to kill the cat.

"That's Paul, Bella. Stay away from him." Embry's response was guarded.

"I wasn't planning on meeting with him Em. I was just trying to figure out who was who over there, that's all." As she said that, she noticed a slender female enter the lobby. As the girl came in, the three older Quileutes turned and the one that Bella was told was Paul walked over and gave the girl a hug. Bella sucked in a sharp breath as soon as she recognized who that girl was. Angela.

"Is that Angie?" Embry's voice rose an octave.

"Yeah it is Em. I wonder why she's here with them?" Bella jumped to her feet and walked briskly over to the one female friend that she still had. "Hey Ang! I didn't know that you were going to come to the movies today. You are more than welcome to hang with me, Embry and Seth if you want." Her voice was pleasant.

"Bella! Hi!" Angie reached out and gave Bella a gentle squeeze. Neither was aware of the attention that they were garnering. "I'm here with some new friends. I met them at the car wash last week. I was washing my car when they pulled into the bay right behind me." Angie's face was beeming with delight.

"I'm here with Embry Call. You remember meeting him don't you?" Bella's eyes shifted to the group of men. "We also have another friend with us. His name is Seth Clearwater. He's hanging with us today." Bella noticed Sam's posture change when he heard Seth's name. He tossed a look over in the young boy's direction and then looked away as if he were interested in the movie posters that were posted all over the lobby. Bella looked back at Embry and Seth, then she waved her hand in a gesture indicating that she wanted them to come over and join in the conversation.

"What the hell is she doing?" Embry spoke softly. Seth just shrugged his shoulders and took another swig of his soda.

"I don't know Dude. Let's go find out." Seth's enthusiasm was something Embry was not ready for. He approached the group with caution.

"Angela, why don't you introduce us to your friend?" Paul's voice was smooth as glass in Bella's ears.

"Oh sure! I almost forgot! How rude." She giggled. "Everyone, this is Bella Swan. Bella, this here is Paul, Sam and Jared."

"Hey there little lady, how's about you ditch those losers you're hanging with and spend the afternoon with some real men?" Jared was looking her up and down.

"Fuck you Jared! Just because I'm younger doesn't make me less than you!" Embry barked.

"Settle down guys. He didn't mean no harm Embry" Sam piped in.

"Why aren't you out with Leah, Sam? She's been real bitchy lately because of you." Seth's words came out angrier than he meant.

"What goes on between your sister and me is just that Sethie, between her and me. She takes time to go out with her friends and so do I. We don't have to be with each other every waking moment of every day ya know." Sam was stern but kind to the young boy who was only looking out for his sister.

"Embry! Nice to meet you again." Angela was truly happy at the reacquainting.

"Angela." Embry nodded and smiled at her. When she returned the smile, he noticed her big brown eyes behind her glasses. He swore that his heart stopped beating. The sparkle that he could see was enchanting.

"What movie were you all coming to see?" Bella asked of Angela.

"I think we were planning on seeing the Terminator marathon. At least that is what they told me. I am a little bummed that Jessica and Rosalie bailed on me though." Angie turned her head and began looking over at the three older men. "I didn't know that I was going to be the only female hanging with those guys until I got here. I was never more happy to see a friend in all my life!" She reached over and gave Bella's hand a firm squeeze. Bella's eyes also travelled over the three hulking forms that stood to the side from where she and Angie were. The men seemed to be lost in conversation with each other.

"Well you're in luck Angie. We were just waiting for the theater to start seating for the marathon. Apparently you and your, um, friends are going to see the same movies as we are. Why don't you sit with me? It would be nice to have a girlfriend to sit with while the boys all get gooey eyed over Linda Hamilton."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Angie's voice was cheery. "I just need to buy my ticket." She was reaching into the front pocket of her capri shorts for the money to pay.

"I got that." Jared's hand shot out and stopped Angie's hand from pulling out the bills. Angie's head lifted to peer into Jared's milk chocolate eyes. He smiled that 'adorable little boy' smile that he has. She blushed at the chivalrous gesture.

"Thanks Jared. You don't have to do that, really. I can pay my way."

"Now what kind of a gentleman would I be to let you do that? My momma raised me better than that." He winked. Bella was watching with rapt attention. Oh, to have a man look at her like that. She thought back to the way Edward used to look at her. He had passion in his eyes but not like that. Was what she was seeing in Jared's eyes passion or was it something more powerful? What could be more powerful than passion? The only thing that came to her mind was lust. Pure unadulterated lust. She wanted a man to look at her with that kind of intensity. She began to wonder if there was something wrong with her that no man had ever looked at her with hunger in his eyes like that.

Angie politely thanked Jared for the purchase of her ticket to get inside and promptly went to the concession stand to buy the snacks before Jared could register a protest with her. She smiled triumphantly at the three men that she came in with as she picked up the tab for the drinks and eats. Her attention was occupied by the concessionaire filling the drinks.

"Bella. They're letting people in the theater now. Let's go get our seats." Embry spoke with his mouth close to her ear. His sudden string of words popped her out of her daydream of men with hungry eyes. She sucked in a sharp breath from being startled, jumped sideways just a bit as she turned her head. As she looked up into Embry's soft eyes, she wished that maybe he might have that look of hunger for her. Before she even thought about it further, she slid a hand behind his neck and planted a soft but firm kiss on his lips. He pulled back slowly as she released her hold on his neck. She looked deep into his eyes. Was that lust in his eyes? Looked more like - confusion. Damn. Not the reaction that she was going for.

"Ok Em. Is it alright if Angie and her friends sit with us as well?"

"It's a free world Bella. They can sit wherever they like." Embry's gaze went towards Angie and the others. She was handing out drinks to each one. He drew in a slow, deep breath and let out a silent sigh as he put his hand in the small of Bella's back to guide her into the seating. They walked into the slightly darker theater along with Seth.

Angie felt a warm hand on her back, guiding her to the seating as well. When she turned to see who it was, she was surprised to see that Paul was the one being gentlemanly. He flashed her his teeth in a sexy smile. His eyebrows raised just a bit causing his face to open up. He had such a kind, friendly look on his face when he did that. She got a good whiff of his aftershave, Old Spice she thought. She had an all consuming wave of trembles move over her. She could not explain why she was shaking. Paul noticed the slight trembles, shucked off his light jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Now she was completely surrounded by his scent. Angie tipped her head ever so slightly so she could take a covert sniff of the collar. It smelled like heaven.

All seven of them filed in and found seats towards the back. They all got settled, with Bella and Angie in the middle. Embry shifted in his seat several times before he was comfortable. He really didn't like watching Paul or Jared sitting with Angie. She seemed too sweet, too innocent to be hanging with the likes of them. He had heard the rumors about those two. Paul was definitely the player of the tribe but Jared had been rumored to join in on occasion with Paul. The thought of those two users taking Angie started to make Embry's blood boil. He was snapped out of his hard thoughts when he realized that Seth was talking to him.

"- kick some ass!" Seth's face was beaming in the reflection of the light off of the big screen.

"Huh, what?"

"I said that I can't wait for the movies to get started because I want to watch John Conner kick some ass."

"John Conner doesn't show up until the second movie you dipshit."

"So. Just the thought of his existance is what the whole first movie is about. John Conner, the killer of cyborgs. The leader of the underground revolution to save the human race. Totally cool."

Seth took a mouthful of Milk Duds and chewed while looking at Embry as if to challenge a reply.

Embry chuckled at Seth's comments. "Yeah, totally cool. I still like the idea of being John Conner's dad because at least he gets the chance to have hot, kinky sex with Linda Hamilton before he dies. And, he's the father of the guy who saves the human race. Makes him kinda important don't it?" Embry shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth and chewed. Seth just shrugged his shoulders. They both laughed at each other.

The lights went dark and the promos began on the big screen. Everyone settled into their seats and focused on the screen. There was a reminder on the screen that all electronics needed to be turned off during the duration of the film. Almost in a choreographed move, all seven pulled their phones from their pockets and turned them off. As time ticked on and the movie proceeded, the theater was filled with the sounds from the featured film as well as the whispered conversations and the not so whispered comments throughout.

As the credits began to roll from the first film, Bella and Angie both decided that they needed to hit the restroom during the intermission. As they entered the ladies room, Bella pulled her phone from her hip pocket and turned it on to check for messages. There weren't any. With a half hearted sigh, she turned the phone off again and tucked it back into her jeans.

"How long have you known Embry?" Angie stepped out of the bathroom stall and went to the sink to wash her hands.

"Um, let me think. I met him shortly after I moved here. Jacob introduced me. It's been maybe two years, give or take a few months I guess. Why?" Bella asked as she went into the stall.

"I was just curious if he's seeing anyone at the moment." Angie was almost shy in her statement.

"Not that I am aware of Ang. Do you want me to help get him to ask you out?" Bella was not happy with that thought but, since Embry had not been returning her advances like she thought he would, maybe it was time to move on.

"You would do that for me Bella?"

"Sure, sure. Why not. Em is a good guy Ang. I'm positive that he will treat you right." Bella came out of the stall and washed her hands and then reapplied some lip gloss to freshen up. "When we head back in for 'Terminator 2', why don't you go ahead and sit next to him. That will be a good place to start, hmm?"

"You're good with that? I don't want to step on your toes or anything Bella. Your friendship means to much to me to lose it over a guy."

"No. I'm good. Em and I are just real good friends Ang. He doesn't look at me like dating material, believe me." She rolled her eyes at that last part. "He thinks that I am supposed to wait for Jacob to return, to resume dating again. I didn't wait for Jake when I dated Edward. I really don't know why Em thinks I should wait for Jake now. Jacob is just like Embry to me. He and I are good friends. Nothing more."

"So you won't mind me asking Embry out for next weekend?" Angie was still not very confident.

"Go for it Angie. You two deserve a chance at being happy. Just because Edward made me miserable doesn't mean that you need to wallow in the mud with me. I'll be happy knowing that you're happy. Does that make sense?" Bella started out the bathroom door with Angie following. As she cleared the doors and stepped into the hallway, her eyes locked with a pair of eyes, milk chocolate colored, from across the hall. "Hey Ang. Why don't you go on in and sit with Embry and see how things go between you two? I'll be right in, in just a few, ok?"

"Uh, yeah sure thing Bella. Please don't be long though. I'm not comfortable being with those older guys by myself. I really should give Jessica and Rosalie a piece of my mind, ditching me like that. See you in just a few Bella." Angie almost skipped back into the theater knowing that she would get to spend some time with Embry.

Bella took in a deep breath, and blew it out slowly in an effort to gather her confidence. She walked right over to the handsome young man who had caught her eye a moment earlier. "Hey. You still staying for the second movie?"

"I don't know Bella. I've seen these movies like a million times and while the intrigue of them never dims for me, I can think of several other things that I would rather be doing right now." He was looking at Bella with the intensity that she had hoped that Embry would have done for her. She gasped a quick breath of air when the strength of his stare struck her. Her whole body began to tingle. He was lusting for her. This she was sure of. She felt positively electrified. He took a finger and moved a small amount of hair from her face and placed it behind her ear. "Can I ask you something Bella?"

"Yeah, sure. What?" She was hoping that her nerves didn't show in her voice.

"Why are you here with a loser like Embry Call? Where is the attraction with him? He's nothing but a Junior in high school. You could surely do better than him Bella. So please tell me why a beautiful, young woman like yourself, would be hanging out with little boys like Embry and Seth?"

"You think I'm beautiful? I think you need your eyes checked Jared." She blushed.

"See. Look at you this very minute. That blush is just the cutest thing I've seen all week." He schmoozed. "I think you need to hang with men your own age instead of babysitting those two punks. I know a place that we can go to just hang for a while. I can get some beer if you would like. We can sit and talk. You can tell me all about yourself and I can tell you all about how I like listening to you telling me all about yourself." He let out a quick laugh.

"I don't know if I should leave without Embry, Jared. He's my ride after all."

"Why is he your ride?'

"My truck broke down almost a month ago and it still isn't repaired yet. I was hoping that Jacob would do the repairs because I trust him, but he left town, so now my truck is in a different repair shop, untouched as of yet. So I am at the mercy of friends to chauffer me around. I hate it."

"I bet you do. You seem to be the independant type Bella." He paused like he was deep in thought. "Jacob? Jacob Black, I'm guessing? I think you are better off having someone else working on your truck instead of Jacob Black. He's ok for minor stuff, but if your truck is as broken as I'm reading from your voice and posture, Jacob won't be able to help you. He's a good kid with a lot of try but he always seems to fall short." Jared felt the need to change the subject quickly. "I would be honored to take you home whenever you want Bella. I've got my car here today. We would have to take Paul along with us as I'm his ride for the day. If you don't mind that is." He wiggled his eyebrows at her in a way that said, "say yes, say yes" without saying a word.

"I think that we need to get in to see the start of the next movie Jared." She was unsure about the feelings that were coursing through her body. Excitement warred with common sense. Jared had a look in his eye that said that he wanted her in no uncertain terms and even though she had just met him, she was toying with the thought that she might just be a little impetuous for the first time in her life. She may just say to hell with everybody elses' thoughts as to how she was supposed to live her life. Do her own thing. "Well, we should at least let everyone else know that we're leaving."

"You're right Beautiful, we should get Paul, tell the others we're going and then hit the road. I've got to tell you, it's all I can do, not to haul you over close to me right now and kiss your brains out." He smiled one of the most charming smiles Bella had ever seen. He literally took her breath away. He was saying all the right things. Doing all the right things. He wanted her in more than a friendly way and she was ok with that. It made her feel like a woman again, not a used shell of a person. Edward didn't want her anymore. Jacob didn't want her. Embry didn't want her. But Jared did. This couldn't be wrong, could it?

She cleared her throat, "Ok. We can do that and... you want to kiss me? Why?"

He did not hesitate to answer her question. He did not speak to answer her question. He just closed the distance between them, placed a large, warm hand to the back of her head and pulled her face to his. He placed a soft peck to her lips at first. Then another one. Then he went for broke. His mouth devoured hers in a most delicious way. All Bella could think about at that very moment was how good he smelled, how good he tasted and how good he felt. She wanted, no, she needed, to be wanted again. His driving kisses went right to her soul as their tongues battled. All she could hear in her head was, 'He wants me, he wants me!' She placed her hands on his ribs to help hold herself steady.

Jared was the one that broke the kisses by moving on down to her jawline and neck with delicate openmouthed kisses all along. He hummed as he went along. As she was gasping for air, it occured to her that they were still in the hallway of the movie theater. She let Jared go with a quick, soft shove and stood there for a moment thinking about what had just transpired between the two of them. She ran her tongue over her lips to savor the taste left behind.

"I'll go get Paul. You can just wait here and I'll be right back, ok?"

She was trying to recover a normal breathing pattern when she came upon the voice in her head that was warning her about Paul and Jared. "Players" is what it was screaming. It sounded like Embry's voice. "I think we both should go in and watch the movie for a bit Jared. After an hour or so, we can make a polite exit and then we can go hang for a while."

"Um, ok. What just happened Bella? I could have sworn that you were as ready to leave here as I was not two seconds ago."

"I was. Or I think I was. I don't know." Her head hung from her drooped shoulders. "I don't know what I want to do Jared. I got my heart hurt badly, the same day as my truck broke down. I just don't trust my instincts when it comes to men right now. Maybe that's why I hang with Embry. He's safe. He won't try to take advantage of me while I'm down." She lightly kicked a popped kernal of corn that had fallen onto the floor over to the side so that it didn't get stepped on. Jared gently cupped her chin with his hand and lifted her face so that he could look her directly in the eyes.

"Not a problem Bella. Like you suggested, we'll watch the movie for a while and then, if you're comfortable, we can go hang out. Sound like a plan?" His milk chocolate eyes moved back and forth, looking into her eyes. "No pressure. I promise. I do apologize if I moved to soon for you, ya know, kissing you like that. I meant no harm. I just couldn't stand to wonder what it would feel like to take your lips with mine one second longer. Can I tell you that if I die right now, I die a happy man."

"Jared, I think you're laying it on a little thick is my response to that last statement." She smirked.

"I meant every word Bella. I don't know how you've been around Forks and La Push and yet I've never seen you before now." His sweet smile and warm eyes looking back and forth into her eyes. She blushed again.

"Let's get back in there before they send out a search party for us." She turned and started towards the seats. Before she took two steps away, Jared reached out and grabbed her arm tugging her back to his chest. When she turned with a slight surprised look on her face, wondering what he was doing, he planted another volley of kisses on her. Some soft, delicate touches, others were anything but delicate. Deep, lustful, powerful. He pulled away slowly and spoke in a soft whisper, "If I have to wait through a movie before I can kiss you again, I just had to stock up on them now." He winked at her, placed his hand into the small of her back and led her back to the seats.


	11. Chapter 11

That Summer

Chapter 11

***HEY ALL!*** I am sorry that it took me so long to get this next chapter out to you. Real life has a way of taking over sometimes. No big problems. Just time consumers! This chapter is twice as long as usual. Please accept my humble apology for taking so long! Enjoy!

Don't find fault; find a remedy.

Back at the ranch...

Jacob dropped the rifle to the ground as he leapt over the trailer hitch to get to Lynn. As he approached the bear, he noticed a puddle of blood that was growing larger as he watched. He whispered to himself, "Oh God." as he dropped to his knees beside Lynn's head. She was face down in the dirt, most of her body seemed to be under the bear's body. It had collapsed onto her.

"Lynn? Lynn, are you ok?" His voice was shaky. His hands even more so. "Lynn, talk to me hon. Are you hurt? Lynn?"

"Mff." She grunted.

"Lynn?" His voice carried a higher pitch.

"Get this God damned bear off me." Her breath hitching from being smashed and being injured.

Jacob started to pull at the bear's carcass to get it off of Lynn's body. He had some difficulty because this was a large bear. He also started to worry that the puddle of blood that was being absorbed into the ground was Lynn's. He threw his whole body into the action. In one slow but steady movement, the bear's body rolled over to the side off of Lynn's. Once the bulk of the bear was off of her, she began to stir some. Jacob noticed that her clothes were saturated in blood. He couldn't tell if it was her's or the bear's. He knelt down next to her again and gently rolled her to her side.

"SHIT THAT HURTS!" She groaned.

"Sorry!" He responded. Afraid to hurt her further. He softly tried to wipe the dirt from her face.

"It's not you Jake. I think the bastard got me." Her breathing came to her in panting puffs

"Let me try to take a look Lynn." Without waiting for a response, Jacob began to lift the sleeveless button up that she was wearing up her body. The shirt was torn to shreds across the back.

"Ahhhh, careful, careful." Puff puff. "It hurts to move my right arm. I think he got my back." She winced in pain and panted again like a woman in labor. "Woooo woooo, ahhh."

"Keep breathing Lynn. Don't hold your breath. Just take steady breaths and it won't hurt so bad." Jacob had no idea if the advice he was giving at the moment was right or not. He just needed to try to get her to stay calm long enough to get her some first aid and then to the hospital. As he moved the shirt above her bra line, he noticed that she had four parallel gouges of varying length across her back starting at the shoulder blade and proceeded down to the middle of her back. They looked like claw marks. He pulled her shirt back into place, picked up his shirt off of the trailer where he had left it and pressed his shirt to the wounds to help staunch the bleeding. "Ok. You are definitely hurt really bad. I need to get you to the hospital as soon as I can."

"No Jake. I'll be fine, really." Her face was getting paler by the minute. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"No Lynn. You are going if I have to carry you the entire way. Got it?" He was firm in his conviction. "Stop being so stubborn."

"Geez, bossy much?" It was almost a whisper. She was going into shock. "Just don't call nine one one because my cousin might get sent out here and I don't want him to know that I got hurt. It'll freak him out." Her eyes closed, her body was weakening.

As Jacob lifted her in his arms, he was careful not to disturb the shirt too much. He did a quick scan and felt that it would be quicker to take the four wheeler than to take the time to unhitch the trailer from the truck. He carried her over to the quad, straddled it, settled her onto his lap with his strong left arm wrapped around her, holding her in place as well as the shirt across her wounds. He fired the quad up with his right hand, used his thumb on the throttle button and his foot shifted it into gear. They sped off as quickly as they could. Her head was tucked into the crook of his chest and neck. He would drop his cheek onto the top of her head every now and again, just to give her, and him, that contact. He kept asking her questions in an effort to keep her awake. He was only getting grunts for responses. Every now and then she would wince from the pain.

Jacob pulled directly into the quonset right next to the big truck that she used for hauling the heavy trailers. He opened the back door of the crew cab and lifted her into the seat as gingerly as he could. After she was settled across the seat, he ran across the way to the mudroom and rifled through the key rack to get the proper key to start the truck. He paused for a moment contemplating the right course of action. He glanced at the quonset as he ran into the house. He picked up the phone and dialed nine one one even though Lynn had asked him not too.

"9-1-1 Emergency Dispatch. Can you tell me the nature of your emergency?" The voice was nasally.

"Yeah, my name is Jacob Black and I'm calling from the Swan Cattle Ranch. The owner, Lynn Rhodes was just attacked by a bear. I've got her loaded into the truck right now and am headed to the hospital. I just wanted to give you all a heads up. She's wounded pretty bad and I don't think I can wait for an ambulance. She's losing a lot of blood."

"You should stay where you are and let the experts do their job sir."

"I know I should but there isn't time." Jacob was getting impatient. "Her cousin is a deputy out here. Please pass on the word that she is headed to the hospital and he can meet me there to issue any speeding tickets he deems fit." With that, Jacob hung up the phone and ran to the quonset.

On the way down the mountain, a patrol car came up behind Jacob and flicked on the red and blue lights. "Shit!" was all he could think to say. As he struggled with pulling over or not, the cruiser pulled around to the side of the truck. The officer hand gestured to follow and then he pulled in front of the truck to escort Jacob and Lynn to the hospital. A wave of relief washed over him. He had help. He was still very attentive to the curves of the road but the assistance that he was getting from the officer bolstered his confidence that they would get Lynn the help she needed.

Once they arrived at the emergency entrance of the tiny hospital in Conifer, the officer ran inside to alert the trauma staff. The doors opened with a flurry of people dressed in yellow, paperlike gowns and a gurney. Jacob had the back doors of the truck cab open so that there was plenty of access to Lynn. She weakly opened her eyes as she was being placed on the gurney. She turned her head and noticed her cousin walking over towards Jacob and her last thought before she succombed to the pain was, "Damn kid can't follow directions. Stubborn shit." She had a weak smirk to her face as she was wheeled into the trauma ward.

As Joe and Jacob started to follow the trauma team into the hospital, Joe stopped and turned towards Jacob and asked, "So. You think you can tell me what exactly happened on the side of the mountain there kid?"

"She was attacked by the bear."

"The bear."

"Yeah. THE bear."

"Do we need to pull together a hunting party again?"

"No sir. You won't need to do that. The bear is lying dead in one of her north pastures."

"No shit. Hmph. I always knew that she was going to get even with that bear. I just didn't think that it would have the opportunity to take her with him." The deputy looked Jacob up and down. Sizing him up. He then extended his hand to Jacob. "Joe Bradley. Lynn's cousin." Jacob took the large hand into his and gave it a firm squeeze and shake.

"Jacob Black. Foreign exchange student. I kinda figured that you knew who was in the truck when you went from wanting to pull me over to escorting us in." Jacob rubbed the back of his neck to try to alleviate some of the stress. "Shouldn't we go in and see how she's doing?"

"Jacob. I know these guys in here. She's in good hands right now. Let's let them do their job. They will find us when they need to. In the meantime, let's see if we can find a shirt for you and get you cleaned up. You seem to be covered in blood. You didn't get hurt did you?" Jacob took the time to look himself over. He had blood smeared all over his chest, arms and hands.

In a quiet voice he said, "Nah. I'm not hurt. I was nowhere near the bear when it went down." They both entered the hospital and Officer Bradley went to the nurse's station and asked for help for Jacob. The nurse glanced over at Jake, grimaced some and then came around the counter and walked over to Jake, took him by the arm and began to lead him down the hall. "The keys are in the truck if you need to move it," Jacob called over his shoulder. Joe nodded.

"Looks like you got into the fray young man." She smiled up at him.

"Nah. I just dove in at the end."

"Well, I'm not sure if what you did was crazy or brave, bringing her off the mountain like that. Rural healthcare care be a dicey thing sometimes. Here we go," she pointed to a small locker room, "you can shower and change into some scrubs in here. That way you aren't sitting around getting all crusty with all that dried blood." The nurse went into the closet and pulled out an XL top and bottom set of navy blue scrubs and a standard sized white terry towel. She set them down on the bench next to the shower stall. He thanked the nurse for the clean clothes and locked the door behind her after she left. He toed off his boots, undid his jeans, shucked them off with his boxer briefs in one motion and slipped a finger into one sock at a time to remove them from his feet. He walked over to the shower stall, turned on the water, stepped in when it got hot enough and let the water cascade over his still high strung body.

Cleaned, dried and dressed, Jacob walked back out to the waiting area with his dirty clothes rolled into a tight bundle. He spotted Officer Bradley sitting in the far corner of the waiting room talking on his cell phone. Jacob headed on over and took a seat across from Joe. Once Joe was done with his call, he hung up and tucked his phone in the breast pocket on his uniform. He looked at Jacob for a moment before he started with the commentary. Both men oblivious to the comings and goings of the ER ward.

"Nice outfit. I like your style. Kind of... cowboy meets Grey's Anatomy."

Jacob rubbed his hands over his damp hair several times. He was still stressing this whole situation. "Have you heard anything yet?"

"No. Not yet, and I take the no news is good news route myself. If things were really bad, they would have already been out here telling us that she was in surgery or that they needed to airlift her to Denver."

"She didn't want me to call for help.. She must have thought that it was just a few scratches I think. She's going to be so pissed that I called and alerted you for sure." Jacob leaned forward in his seat, twined his fingers together behind his neck and rested his elbows on his knees.

"She didn't want me to know that she got hurt?"

"Nope."

"Hmm. Sounds like Lynn." Joe sat back in his seat, trying to read Jacob's body language. He was picking up on a young kid trying to be strong even though he just had the life scared right out of him. "Jacob. Is there anyone that you need to call or talk to about this? You can talk to me if you'd like."

Jacob thought for a few moments as to who he should call if anybody. His mind wandered through the events that happened just over an hour before and all he could think about was the overwhelming fear that had encased his heart and mind as he watched the bear charge and attack Lynn. He sat up straight and looked over at Joe, "I'm pretty sure I left my cell phone in my room back at the ranch because there isn't any cell service there. I didn't think to grab it before I brought Lynn here."

Joe reached into his pocket and fingered out his cell. He handed it over to Jacob. "Take your time son. There's no hurry. I'm not going anywhere until you and I both are sure that Lynn will be fine, OK?"

Jacob nodded as he took the phone from Joe's hand. He stared at the keyboard for a moment, thinking about who would be the best person to call. Using his thumb, he slowly dialed the one phone number he was sure he would get through to. He held the phone to his ear and listened as the tone rang in his ear twice before it went to voicemail. He hit end on the face of the phone. He then dialed the phone number of his best friend's cell. It also rang a couple times and then went to voicemail. He knew calling his home was futile as no one was living there at the moment so he dialed the only other number he could think of at that time... Charlie's. The tone he heard on his end was a busy signal. Again, he hit the end button. He handed the phone back to Joe. Joe had observed Jacob the entire time. He noted the dejected slope of Jake's shoulders. The release of quiet sighs every time the call didn't go through. Just as Joe was taking the phone back, a doctor came out from behind the closed doors and sauntered over to the waiting room.

"Officer Bradley. Hi. I'm Dr. Kim O'Neill. I'm the one that took over Lynn's case." She offered her hand in greeting. Joe and Jacob both rose to their feet as she entered the room. She shook Joe's hand and treated him with a quick smile. She then shifted her focus on Jacob. She offered her hand to him as well.

"Hi. Jacob, Jacob Black."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Black." She granted Jacob with an easy smile as well. "I'm betting that you two would like to know what's going on, hmm?"

"You have no idea Doc." Jacob blurted.

"Is there any next of kin available?" The doctor asked plainly. Jacob's and Joe's faces both went snow white.

"Next of kin? I'm her next of kin Doc. What do I need to be notified of?" Joe started to noticeably shake. Jacob looked like he was going to faint.

"Just that she should be fine to go home tomorrow. She has some very nasty lacerations across her back and a few smaller puncture wounds to her right buttock cheek and her right thigh. She was very lucky considering it was a bear attack. Not near as much damage as we would have expected. The wounds across her back have been stitched back together again. No way to avoid scarring there though. Since the wounds were caused by bear claws, we have her on some very strong antibiotics. We are administering the drugs by IV for the time being but will have a prescription for you to fill when she goes home."

"Jesus Doc, you scared the shit out of me! You might want to work on your delivery technique." Joe sucked in a huge lungful of air as the tension left his body. The doctor shrugged her shoulders. Jacob just sat down and took several slow, deep breaths then he shot back to his feet.

"Can I go in and see her? Please?" He could not hide the anxiety in his voice.

"We have a policy that only allows family members to visit. Are you family?"

"He's a, ahhh, a cousin from my Mom's side of the family. He's related to me so that makes him related to Lynn. Can't you see the family resemblance?" Joe stepped next to Jacob and put on his best poker face. The doctor looked at both men and noted that while they were both tall and fairly broad of shoulder, Joe was lighter in color. His hair was an ash blond and curly while Jacob's was black and stick straight. Joe's skin, while almost as tan as Jacob's natural tawny color, was obviously white under the uniform he was wearing. She was sure that was what they called a 'farmer's tan line' that she noticed on Joe's arm and neckline. The only similarity that they shared was brown eyes. She couldn't even be totally sure if the shape of their faces were similar as Joe sported a full on goatee. She quirked an eyebrow at them.

"Alright. I'll let him visit, but only for a short while. You too Deputy. Lynn needs her rest. You will have plenty of time to pester her after you take her home tomorrow. They will have her settled into her room, number 222, in about twenty minutes. As soon as she's settled, you can visit but please, one at a time." The doctor strode over to the nurses' station and made a few notes on a chart that Jacob figured belonged to Lynn.

"Thanks man. Why'd you do that?" Jacob looked Joe square in the eyes.

"Because you saved her life Jacob. One good deed deserves another in my book. You're good people Jake. I'm glad that Lynn has you to help out this summer. Now, let's go visit 'our' cousin shall we?" Joe clapped his hand on Jacob's shoulder and gave him a reassuring shake.

Even though the ranch was located in a fairly secluded part of the Colorado mountains, it didn't take very long before the word spread throughout the community about Lynn's run in with the bear. Apparently, as she was being rushed into the ER ward, Tom McBryan was just stepping out of an exam room having had several stitches put in the back of his hand from a fight with a particularly nasty piece of barbed wire. He was rubbing his shoulder, trying to bring relief to the spot where he received his tetanus booster as she was wheeled past him. He stood there for a few moments listening to the flurry of activity surrounding her care.

Without permission, he tucked himself into a corner where he could noisily observe the trauma nurses cutting off the shredded clothes, IV lines being placed, radiographs being taken, other assessments being done before she was moved into a surgical suite to repair the damage. He stepped out of the area as stealthily as he could so as to not draw attention to the fact that he was where he did not belong. He grabbed his cell out of his pocket and dialed up his ranch foreman as he was walking out the ER doors. He noticed the police officer and the young native kid standing in the waiting area as he walked passed. "Hey Dougie, have I got a job for you..." He pushed his way through the door to the parking lot.

~~~TS~~~

"Hey Lynn, how're ya feeling?" Jacob spoke softly as he gently stroked her hair from her temple to behind her ear. She had been placed on the bed in the prone position. Jacob could see the bandaging that was wrapped snuggly around her torso. There was still some blood seeping through the gauze and tape. There was a female nurse fussing with the IV stand, setting the right drip rate for the meds. She then went to the cubby beside the bed where the computer was housed so that she could enter in the monitored vital statistics. Lynn roused slightly.

"She has had some pretty strong sedatives and painkillers." The nurse shared. "She may not wake up for another hour or so."

"Is everything ok? Is there supposed to be bleeding like that?" He pointed to the bandages on her back.

"That bleeding is still within normal limits. Over the next day or two, it should stop completely. The wounds can seep sometimes. We are more worried about infection. Not just local to the wound site but systemically. God only knows where that bear has been walking or what he has been digging at."

"Hmm." Jacob nodded in agreement and refocused his eyes on Lynn's paler than normal face. Her eyes began to blink open slowly. Jacob moved in closer so that she wouldn't have to move around to see him.

"Hey Lady, you in there?" He gave her a gentle smile. She blinked a few times more before her eyes stayed open long enough to focus on the face that was only a foot in measurement away from hers.

"Are you my nurssh? My naughty cowboy nurssh?" Her words soft as a whisper. She closed her eyes again and shifted slightly with an almost cat like purr. Jacob stood up straight and his eyebrows winged up to his hairline with surprise.

"What's she talking about?" He looked at the female nurse as if she had all the answers.

"I wouldn't have the foggiest. You are wearing scrubs so maybe she thinks you are part of the staff. Just a guess." She shrugged and left the room. Joe peeked into the room right after the nurse turned the corner in the hallway.

"The nurse said that she's talking now?" He asked Jacob.

"She's saying words but they don't make sense. At least not to me."

"What did she say?" Joe slipped into the suite.

"I think she asked if I was her naughty cowboy nurse. Why would she ask that?"

"She must be reading her romance novels again. There are a few that have some pretty steamy sex scenes in them I guess. Haven't read them myself. I'm just going by what she's told me."

"But she was looking at me Joe. Why would she say that to me?" Jake was torn between flustered and embarrassed.

"Come here naughty cowboy nurssh. I think I need a sssponge bath." Lynn sounded drunk. She blinked again as she tried to focus on the man standing next to her bed wearing the surgical scrubs. "I prrromissh not to use the shpurs this time."

Jacob and Joe just looked at each other for a moment before Joe cracked a huge smile while Jacob pinched his eyes closed for a brief second and shook his head. "The nurse said that they used some pretty heavy duty painkillers and sedatives on her. You don't suppose she's just tripping on the good stuff do you?" Jacob's voice cracked with uneasiness.

"More than likely. I bet by tomorrow morning she will be bright eyed and bushy tailed and won't remember a thing she's said."

"I thhhink you need to be rode hhhhard and put away wet there mishter nurssh cowboy man, hmm." She tried to lift her right hand from the bed to touch Jacob but only managed to wince in pain from the movement. "Smayybee you would like to help me feed sssoooo you can check out my loft?" Her voice rose and fell as she continued to try to focus her eyes.

"Yeah... she's in la la land right now. And she most definitely has been reading those silly books again." Joe reached out and stroked her forehead in a loving gesture while he shook his head. "I think we should take her advice and head back to the ranch to care for the animals. I think the best thing for her right now is to just leave her be and let her get some sleep. Besides, I want to see where this attack happened. You ok with that Jacob? Showing me where this whole thing went down?"

"Yeah. I'm fine with it." He thought about it again for a brief moment. "I need to check on the dogs as well. I was in such a hurry that I left them running free. I don't even know where they would be right now."

"Hey cowboy nurssh... you goin' ta ssshow me how good you are with your ropppesss?" She still could not focus clearly on who was actually standing next to her in the room but she didn't care. She was riding the Demerol flying carpet and feeling good about it.

"Yeah, time to go." Jacob concurred. Joe dug in his pocket and tossed Jacob the keys for the truck.

"Let's pay attention to the speed limit headed home, ok?" Joe gave Jacob a slanted look.

"Not a problem sir." Jacob leaned over and gave Lynn a quick, chaste kiss on the forehead. "I'll be back as quick as I can Lynn. Just checking on everything at the ranch. You be a good girl for the doctors and nurses now, ya hear?" He turned and walked out without waiting for a response.

As they pulled into the ranch, Jacob parked the truck in the quonset. As he was walking out and shutting the door, Angus came running up and jumped up on him like he was a small child scared after being lost. Jacob reached down and petted the dog for a moment and then began to give him a quick once over to see if there were any injuries. Angus seemed to be fine other than just unsettled. Joe parked his cruiser next to the yard fence and headed into the house. Jacob was just a half dozen steps behind him.

Joe gave the house a thorough look around to make sure that everything was as it should be. The fixings for roast beef sandwiches were on the kitchen counter. They remained in the state of half finished as Lynn had left them. Jacob ran upstairs to change out of the scrubs that he had borrowed from the hospital. He came back down in a fresh pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. He wandered into the kitchen and picked up the package of lunch meat and began to chew on a few slices of the roast beef. He offered the package to Joe who just shook his head and said, "Thanks but I already ate. I was just finishing lunch when your call came in."

As Jacob shoved a couple more slices of beef into his mouth, he noticed a plume of dust rising from the driveway leading from the paved road to the house. He pointed in the direction and Joe turned to see what had alerted Jake.

"Who do you suppose is coming out here now?" Jacob said after swallowing his lunch only half chewed.

"I'm not sure. Why don't we go on out and greet our guests, hmm?" Joe instinctively placed his hand over his service revolver as he nodded his head toward the incoming vehicles. Jacob nodded back.

As they stepped out onto the front porch, four trucks drove past the house and parked along the front of the quonset. Doors on all four trucks sprang open and out poured over a dozen total people. Joe stepped off the porch and walked over to the gathering crowd. Leading the group was none other than Tom McBryan and right beside him was his foreman Dougie and Tom's two children, Tom Junior - aka TJ, and Shannon, his daughter. The families of the Twenty X Ranch - Brent Greene with his wife and kids - Terri, identical twins Trevor and Travis, Caleb and Natalie, The TJ Lazy C Ranch - Timnath (Tim) Calhan with his wife and kids - Jules (Julie), Gina, Misty and Timmy, and The Bugling Elk Ranch - Liam O'Malley with his wife and kids - Karen, Nick, Reeny, Collie, and Becky also came over to see how they could offer assistance.

"Hey Joe! Please tell us how Lynn is doing!" Tom spoke in a way that expressed true worry for Lynn. Jacob was suspicious of the man and his face could not hide that fact.

"She's doing fine now Tom. Doc says she'll be able to come home tomorrow. She may need some home care though."

"I can come over to help her with that!" Terri Greene actually raised her hand in the air as if she were being chosen to answer a question.

"Me and my girls sure could pitch in as well if we are needed too." Karen O'Malley smiled.

Joe looked at both of the women that spoke and nodded. "Thank you for that, Ladies. I am sure that Lynn will need help for a week or so until the doctor gives the OK to start back with her work around here."

"Speaking of that, what can we do?" Tim Calhan asked.

Joe looked at Jacob with a look on his face that said. "You can answer that can't you?" Jacob ran his hand over his head, scruffing his hair in all directions before he slid his hands into his pockets, looked up at all the faces of Lynn's neighbors and spoke clearly. "The only thing that she had let me know that needed done right now was fixing and replacing the fence line up in the north pasture where we were when she got hurt."

"How did she get hurt exactly?" Tom asked.

Jacob levelled a cool glare at the man before he told the story to the crowd.

"Is the bear still loose? Do we need a hunting party to find it?" Liam asked.

"No sir. The bear is already dead. He's up in the north pasture where we were replacing some of the fencing. I left everything up there as a matter of fact. I need to get back up there and see if I can find Lynn's other dog. He didn't come back with Angus. I think he might be badly hurt too."

"Alright then. Everybody load up and we will all follow this young man," Tom looked at Jacob and asked, "What was your name again boy?" Jacob's face went blank but dark.

"Jacob."

"Yes. Jacob. We will follow Jacob to the site of the attack to help set things right up there." Tom winked at Jacob. If Jacob had been an animal, his hackles would be standing up at the scruff. Something about that man just did not set well with him. He couldn't put a finger on it but he knew that deep down in his bones, Tom McBryan was not a man you could trust. Jacob just let out a small, quiet growl as he nodded at Joe and they both hopped in the big truck as everybody else loaded up into their respective vehicles. A few trucks pulled away from the quonset so that Jacob could pull out and lead the way.

Once at the site, everybody gathered around the carcass of the bear. While the adults were glued to Jacob walking them through the events from earlier in the day, the youngest of the kids - Timmy Calhan at age 12 years, ran over to the treeline and picked up a long stick, came back over to the bear and began poking it. Some of the girls stood in a small circle, all holding their hand over their nose in an effort to not breathe in the smell of bear and blood. Timmy was giggling at how easy it was to gross out his sisters and the others. He kept poking the bear in the rump and then the side a few times before he ventured up to the head. Timmy very carefully poked the bear in the nose and then the mouth. "Hey Dad! Come watch the way the bear's mouth moves when I poke it!"

"Tim, please stop Timmy from doing that. He is going to get blood all over his clothes." Julie gave her youngest the 'Stop misbehaving' Mom look. Timmy giggled again. The adult males gathered around the carcass while Joe knelt down by the head of the bear. He grabbed the fur at the base of the head and lifted the head off the ground to give it a thorough exam. The jaw did not just hang open. It hung to the side in an unnatural angle.

"Well that explains some things." Joe looked thoughtfully at the bears broken jaw.

"Explains what?" Jacob asked.

"This explains why she wasn't mauled any worse that what she was. The bear's jaw was fractured in a way that he could not bite." Joe stuck his finger into the fractured area and dug around for a moment or two. "Yep. Right here." He poked his finger through the bear's jaw and hide to show that there was a bullet hole. "Looks like you shot him in the jaw Jacob."

"I was aiming for his heart while he was charging at us."

"Don't rightly matter Jacob. By hitting him in the jaw, you saved Lynn's life. The bear could not bite her. That's why the worst of her wounds are the claw marks across her back."

Jacob stood there for a moment. He pondered what was told to him. That even with his inexperience with handling firearms, he managed to keep Lynn from getting hurt any worse than what she did. He didn't know if he should be proud or scared or what.

"Damn boy! You managed to bring down this old bruin that we all have been trying to get for years. You must be one lucky bastard. Maybe having an Indian on the mountain ain't such a bad thing after all." Tom and TJ walked over to where the rolls of fencing were lying, laughing like they had just told a joke. Jacob gave a small growl again.

"Deputy! Deputy! Come quick!" Misty called as she was kneeling on the ground by the back of the truck that had been left there. She was pointing to something under the trailer. Joe reached out and picked up the rifle that Jacob had left next to the bear as he stood up on his way over to Misty. Joe opened the action of the rifle to clear it of any live rounds. The only thing that popped out was the last spent shell. He closed the action and placed the rifle in the rifle rack of the truck before he spoke to Misty.

"Whatcha got Darlin'?"

"Is that Mrs. Rhodes' dog?" Misty was hesitant. Jacob ran over to look under the trailer at the same time that Joe walked over to her.

"Gimpy! Come on Gimpy. Come out here!" Jacob called to the dog. The dog did not move. Jacob dropped to his belly and Army crawled under the trailer until he could reach the dog. Gimpy did not move. Jacob gently reached out his hand and placed it on Gimpy's side. There was no longer any heartbeat or air moving in the dog's body. Jacob's head fell to his forearm that was in front of him. "Ah damn Gimpy." He took a few more deep breaths before he grabbed the dog by the back legs and pulled the body out from under the trailer. The dog had not survived his wounds. Jacob picked the dog up from the ground and carried him to the truck and gently placed the remains on the front seat. He found an old blanket in the back seat and used it to cover Gimpy. When Jacob turned from the truck as he was closing the door, Shannon walked over towards him. She reached up and softly wiped away a tear that Jacob didn't even know he had shed.

"I'm sorry Jacob." Her voice was soft and low.

Her touching his face was a bit shocking for Jacob. Other than his mother and sisters, he had never had anybody wipe away any tears that he may have cried. To have the daughter of the world's biggest prick do it was a bit unsettling. He turned his face to his shoulder and used his sleeve to wipe his face from any other moisture that might be there. "Thanks. Um, I don't know your name."

"Shannon. Shannon McBryan."

"Thanks again Shannon McBryan." Jacob gave her a quick smile that did not reach his eyes. "I must have gotten some dirt or dust in my eyes when I crawled under there." He said as he indicated the trailer.

"I understand." She looked at him with kind and knowing eyes.

"Ha ha ha! Look at the little Indian boy crying over his lost dog!" TJ laughed at the exchange between his sister and Jake. The O'Malley girls rallied to Jacob's side and faced off with TJ.

"Shut your face you wanker!" Reeny shouted. "I lost my dog last fall and it still hurts to this day. You going to make fun of me then?"

"Get bent TJ. You were a mess when we lost Fluffy your cat. Cried like a big baby for a week!" Shannon supplied.

"Maureen, you're just a girl. It is acceptable for you to cry when you lose a pet. That dog didn't even belong to him. He must be quite the softie if he drips tears every time an animal dies. Not much of a hunter, or a brave for that matter. And Shannon, fuck off!" Shannon just flipped her brother the bird.

"You didn't think that I was 'just a girl' at the after-prom party last year now did ya!?" Reeny's comment agitated several of the parents. They began milling around in an angry mob kind of way.

"ENOUGH!" Joe barked as loud as he could. "I thought that we were all here to help Lynn since she is the one laying in the hospital right now. Picking on Jacob is not helping Lynn. McBryan," he pointed to TJ, "get your ass away from Jacob before I knock some sense into you."

"You'll do no such thing Officer!" The elder McBryan spoke loudly.

"Control your son Tom! I will not stand for this kindergarten shit that he's pulling! Jacob has done nothing wrong here."

"I agree Tom." Brent said.

"Me too Tom." Terri added. She had a hurt look on her face. Tom walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry Terri. You know that I would never do anything that would hurt Lynn. I'll talk to TJ when we go home. You know how your nephew is. Stubborn." He chuckled a little as he looked into Terri's eyes.

"Just like his father. Stubborn like an ass if you ask me." That made them both laugh.

"What needs to be done up here?" Liam asked. He had been watching the showdown from a distance and was feeling pride in his daughters for standing up to a bully.

"Liam, Tim and Brent, if you could each grab a leg along with me, I think we can load this bear into the back of one of the trucks. Then we can all go back down to the house and work out a schedule for coming over to help. How does that sound?" Joe looked at the men not really expecting an answer. They managed to pick the bruin up, with some difficulty, and placed it in the back of Tim's truck as he lived the closest to the game warden's office. He would drop the bear off with them including Joe's contact information to allay any thought of the bear being poached.

After a couple hours of conversation, it was agreed that the four families would take turns over the next few weeks to help out on Lynn's ranch. That way no one ranch takes on the brunt of the duties. Jacob was relieved that he would have help as he was not sure what all still needed to be done. He figured that once Lynn comes home that she would be able to give more guidance to the chores needing done. While the parents all worked out a schedule between each ranch, Jacob went outside, walked over to the quonset, dug around until he found a shovel. He was about to jump back in the truck that still held Gimpy's remains when he was stopped by the Greene twins. They both offered their hands in greeting. Jacob hesitated at first but then took each offered hand with a firm shake.

"I'm Trevor and this is my brother Travis. Some people have trouble telling us apart. You just need to get to know us a little." Trevor's smile was bright enough to light the night.

"Jacob Black. I have twin sisters so I know what you're saying. I'm only here until the end of August. Will you guys be here often enough for me to figure out who is who?"

Trevor and Travis both let out the same laugh. "We usually come over to help with the sorting and branding so we will both be here in a couple of weeks."

"Cool. I guess I better go dig a hole for Gimpy now. The adults are hashing out the chore schedule. Seems they don't really want my input so I thought I better take care of Gimpy before I lose all daylight."

"We can help you with that. We had a barnful of cats that we lost a few years back in a barn fire. We both lost the cats that we like the best."

Jacob stood there for a moment searching his thoughts about how this day went down. "Thanks. I could really use a little company at the moment." As the three of them fished out a couple more shovels and began to get into the truck, all of the girls came over to the truck with Misty climbing up on the running board to speak face to face with Jacob.

"What can we do to help Jacob?" He thought on that for a moment or two.

"Do you ladies know how to feed horses?" Jacob looked right into Misty's deep blue eyes. She sucked in a quick gasp of air at the connection.

"Sure we do. All of us own and ride horses." Misty said, a huge smile showing perfect teeth.

"Some of our horses were bought from Mrs. Rhodes." Becky added.

"Well... I sure could use your help in the barn. The stalls will need another cleaning and the horses fed for the night. Do you mind doing that for me while we go bury Gimpy next to his former owner?"

There was a chorus of answers from "Not at all." to "No problem." to "Easy peasy." Shannon just managed to give Jacob a wink and a soft smile when his eyes fell on her face. Before the girls all walked out of the quonset heading for the barn, Misty leaned into the cab of the truck through the open window and planted a quick peck on Jacob's cheek. She then jumped off the running board and joined the others as they left. Girly chatter and giggles could be heard the entire way. Jacob looked at the twins with a curious expression on his face.

"Are they like that all the time?" He asked as he touched his cheek where Misty had kissed it. He started the truck and pulled out of the quonset. He was headed to the pasture were Lynn's husband was buried.

"Nah. They all aren't quite that forward. It's those three young ones that you got to watch out for." Trevor said as he was looking Travis straight in the eye.

"Yeah. Trev is right. Those three are like the Energizer Bunny. They can go all day long chatting about nothing." Travis added.

"Which ones are they? I didn't get to meet everybody that was here today."

"Those would be the 'Three Fifteeners'" Travis chuckled. "Natalie, Misty and Becky. When those three get together, ..." Travis just shook his head side to side and then snorted.

"Which one kissed me?" Jacob waited as Trevor jumped out to open and close the gate so they could drive through.

"That was Misty. Misty Calhan. Nice enough girl. Just really friendly." Travis nodded. The truck came to a stop about ten yards away from the headstones next to the treeline. Jacob looked over the scene with a sad heart. He shut the truck off and bailed out of the door, reached into the bed of the truck, plucked out one of the shovels and strode over to the side of the newer grave marker. The twins had followed with their own shovels in hand. They all stared at the markers for a moment. "Damn. I didn't know that there was two Christophers."

"Me neither Trav. Jacob, do you know the story?" Trevor looked at Jake with wide eyes.

"The only thing I can tell you is that Christopher Rhodes was Lynn's husband and Christopher Swan was his uncle. He died in a car accident coming home from a ranch close by. I think Lynn told me the name. Um... I think she said it was the Twenty something."

"HOLY HELL!" Both twins chimed in at the same time. "Twenty X. That's our ranch! Bet Dad can fill us in on that." Trevor had no sense of decency.

"I bet he can. Let's get started. I want to get back to the house." The weight of the day was wearing on Jacob. He took his shovel and scraped a rectangle shape in the soil to show the twins were he wanted the hole and how big. They all broke ground at the same time. With the three of them working on this task, the hole was dug, the dog was placed in the bottom wrapped in the blanket while facing towards his master, the hole was refilled and a few silent words were spoken before the boys all piled in the truck to head on back.

Jacob was pulling the door of the quonset closed when Shannon came up behind him. He startled when she spoke. "Hey Jacob."

"Damn! Warn a guy first huh?! You scared the crap out of me." Jacob was holding his hand over his rapidly beating heart. Shannon let out a quiet laugh as she approached closer.

"Sorry for that. You must have been pretty preoccupied because I did call your name before I got close."

"Yeah well, this day sure didn't turn out to be the type of day that anyone would look forward to having now did it?" His voice was a bit cold and sharp.

"Did I do something to piss you off? You seem angry with me."

"No. I just have a ton of shit on my shoulders to deal with. All this with Lynn as well as the fact that I just can't seem to get in touch with anyone back at La Push either."

"Did what my brother say to you make you angry? You do know that he is a king sized jerkwad don't you?"

"I kind of got the hint, yeah."

"Do me a favor then."

"What?"

"Don't lump me in the same group as him. He and I are such polar opposites that some people wouldn't believe that we were related if it weren't for the fact that we look alike." She snickered at her thoughts. "I am pretty sure I wear this face better than he does." She raised her face to Jacob, showing off a very charming smile. He did agree that there was a very strong family resemblance between the two siblings. He concluded that they must favor the mother because the only thing he could see that they shared with the father was his brown eyes.

"I can agree with that statement." Jacob offered back a smile that was just not up to his normal full wattage. "I apologize if I've been rude to you. Other than the day that my Mom died, I think I just had the worst day of my life. I'm not myself." His head hung in a dejected fashion. Shannon reached over and placed her hand on his forearm and gave a gentle squeeze. Her other hand slowly touched his shoulder and began to stroke across his back in gentle arcs for a few moments. She could feel his tension in the tight muscles across his shoulders and neck.

"I do know what you mean about losing your mother. I lost mine just a few years ago. She was sick but never told us until it was too late to do anything about it." Shannon hung her head in a mimic of Jacob. She then lifted her chin up and stared into his eyes unwaveringly. "I am not my brother. I am not my father. I choose to live my life free of the prejudices that they seem to live by. I hope that we can become friends Jacob. I don't think that I have ever met anyone like you before. I would like to get to know you better. I hope you don't mind." She granted Jacob the sweetest smile. He raised his head up a little straighter and his smile became a little brighter.

"I would like that Shannon. I really would." He looked around the yard and noticed the crowd that was gathering on the back porch of the house. "Guess we should go over and see what's up?"

"Yeah. We should." She took his hand in hers and led him across the drive and into the back yard. She released his hand before they arrived at the porch.

"What are you doing with that boy Girlie?" Her Dad's voice was unmistakable.

"Just walking with him Daddy. We wanted to see how things got worked out."

"You just stay away from him now, ya hear?"

"Daddy. Don't tell me what to do. I was doing nothing wrong so leave me and leave Jacob alone!"

"Tom. Stop it." Joe's voice came out of the group of people as he worked his way through the crowd. "Jacob. I think we have a good working schedule to help cover the work for the next couple weeks so that Lynn will have time to heal up." Jacob looked up at Joe standing on the porch along with the faces of all the other people who rushed to the call of help.

"Thank you. Thank you all. I know it's not a secret that I'm a rookie here but I sure do appreciate the help. I will take anything that is offered."

"Good! There are three casseroles that are premade for you and Lynn on the kitchen counter, young one. You can cook them ahead of time and then freeze them for later. I just threw together a few." Karen O'Malley was a very happy kind of person and it showed. "I wrote the cooking time and temps for each one on the notepad there beside them. I didn't want to leave you without food." Her maternal instincts couldn't be hidden.

"Oh, well... Thanks! I really do appreciate that. More than you know. I was thinking my dinner was going to consist of a microwavable frozen meal or maybe some soup."

"Then it was a good thing that I made some dinners for you. You seem to be a growing boy and you won't grow worth a darn if all you eat is frozen dinners and soup."

"Again, thank you ma'am."

"Ma'am! Lord have mercy! I'm not old enough to be called ma'am!" Karen gave Jacob a cross look. He let out a small burst of laughter and threw his hands in the air indicating surrender.

"My apologies ma'... erm, Mrs. Ahhh?" He didn't know her name.

"I'm Mrs. O'Malley but you can call me Karen, young one." She winked, letting him know he was off the hook.

"If you need anything Jacob please don't hesitate to call." Tim Calhan offered his hand to Jacob. "We can get over here pretty fast if you need. We are going to head out now 'cause we have our own chores to tend to before bedtime. Nice to meet you son."

"Nice to meet you as well sir." Jacob's manners were impeccable.

The other families went home as well. There was backslapping and handshaking and hugs and kisses shared among all the neighbors before they all piled into their respective trucks. Jacob and Joe stood on the porch, watching until the last set of taillights could no longer be seen. Joe put his arm across Jacob's back and grasped his shoulder. "You going to be ok being here by yourself? Really?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Lynn will be home tomorrow so it will be just for tonight." Joe gave Jacob a very thorough once over.

"Alright. I'm going to head home then as well. The work schedule that we all worked out is posted on the fridge so you will know who is coming by in the morning to help knock out chores. I had everyone write down their phone numbers as well so you have contact information. My number is at the top. I'll pick Lynn up tomorrow and bring her home." Jacob moved around showing a little unease with that.

"I was hoping to pick her up. I feel like I let her down and she got hurt because of me." Joe looked at Jacob with an understanding expression on his face.

"This was not your fault Jacob. Not. At. All. Don't make me make you repeat that." Joe's look was stern. It melded into an exhausted smile. "Just get some sleep, ok? You will do Lynn no good if you are a walking zombie around here. I would really hate it if you were the one to start the zombie apocalypse. I'd have'ta shoot ya!"

Both men let out a laugh. Joe took Jacob's big hand into his and gave it a firm, manly shake. He stepped off the porch, walked over to his cruiser, opened the driver's door, literally plopped into the seat, started the car and drove off into the dark of the night.

Jacob stood on the porch for a moment or two, breathing in the cool night air. With July just around the corner, the mountain air was beginning to stay warm even through the night. As he turned to go into the house, Angus trotted up to him and sat at his feet. He looked at the dog for a moment. "You hungry too?" Angus tipped his head sideways. "Yeah. I thought so. Let's go see what they did for us in here." Jacob held the door open for Angus to enter the house. He walked over to the kitchen counter and found the three casserole dishes sitting just as Karen had told him. He picked the one that looked like mac and cheese with chicken pieces in it, read the heating instructions, turned to the oven to get it preheated and put the other two into the refrigerator. He picked a piece of the chicken out of the dish and looked at Agnus.

"Sit." The dog wagged his tail so hard his whole body waved with the motion. "Sit!" Angus had a happy face on. Wag, wag, wag. "Sit!" Jacob pushed Angus' rear to the floor. "Good boy." He gave the pup the chicken treat. "Looks like it's just you and me Bud." He ruffled the pup's hair on his neck. Jacob let out a deep sigh as he stood back up straight.

After eating a warm dinner, Jacob and Angus were sitting on the couch surfing tv channels when Jacob shot up off the couch and went into the office and grabbed the cordless phone. He dialed Charlie's house. After a few rings, finally, a real human to talk to.

"Swan's"

"Charlie!" The rush of relief had Jacob reaching for a chair.

"Jake! How the hell are ya? Haven't heard from you in awhile. Thought that maybe you got lost or something!" Charlie laughed.

"Nah. Just been really busy Charlie." He hesitated for a few moments.

"Jake? What's up?" Charlie could hear the distress in Jake's breathing.

"There was an incident here today Charlie." He hesitated again. "Charlie, Lynn got attacked by a bear."

"WHAT!? I thought I just heard you say that Lynn was attacked by a... bear?!"

"Yeah, you heard right. She's in the hospital tonight. They'll let her come home tomorrow."

"You didn't get hurt did you?!" Jacob could hear the fear in Charlie's voice and he could hear his dad talking in the background getting closer to the phone.

"Jacob! What happened?!" Apparently Billy took the phone from Charlie. Jacob could hear a click on the line and realized that Charlie had picked up a phone extension in a different part of the house. Now he had two upset fathers to deal with.

"I'm fine. Really. Lynn's cousin Joe, who happens to be a local deputy, just left after making sure that I would be fine. Would you like his phone number so that you can double check on that?"

"Yes! No." Jacob wasn't sure who said what that time.

"Grab a pencil Charlie." Jacob walked out to the kitchen and found the schedule held to the front of the freezer side of the fridge with a John Deere tractor magnet. He rambled off Joe's number. He spent over half an hour explaining what had happened and what the plans were for the next few weeks. Then he worked up the nerve to ask what he was afraid to ask. "Is Bella home?"

"Sorry Jake. She has been out all day with Embry and Seth. They said something about going to the movies earlier today." Billy's voice was soothing to Jacob's nerves even when the news was not what he wanted to hear.

"That would explain why I couldn't get ahold of her when I tried to call her earlier." He scrubbed his hand over his face. "When were they due to get home?"

"She didn't say Jake. Sorry. I sure can have her call you when she gets in if you'd like." Charlie was encouraging. As Jacob was deciding if he wanted to stay up until Bella called him, he could hear someone knock on the front door of Charlie's house. "'scuse me for a moment Jake." Charlie laid the phone down on a table. Jacob could hear the thunk of the plastic meeting the wood. He heard a familiar voice in the background. Embry. He and Charlie were conversing and it was getting heated.

"Jacob. If you want to come home, at any time my son, please let us know. We will make sure that you have ample funds and supplies for the trip." Billy was fretting over what Jacob had gone through even though there was nothing that could have been done differently. "Do you hear me Jacob. Anytime. Just call."

"Dad. I'm fine. Lynn needs me now, more than ever. She will be laid up for at least a week or two. At least until the stitches come out. I don't mind staying and helping. I met a whole bunch of neighbors today. Bunch of adults and even more kids that were all around my age. At least I think they were. I think it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Lynn can be kind of stubborn."

"Sounds like Charlie." Billy laughed and that caused Jacob to laugh as well. "I always love to hear you laugh my son. Your laugh is so much like your mother's. I am proud that you are willing to stick this through, but if you need to come home, for whatever reason, please let me know. I only want you to be happy."

"I know Dad." Jacob heard Charlie's extension get picked up.

"Jake. Embry just stopped in. Yeah. He was looking to see if Bella had made it home without him. Apparently she left the movies with someone else. I'm going to need to go so I can find out just where the hell my daughter is. Sorry Jake." Charlie's voice was pained.

"Let me speak with Embry please!" Jacob was instantly frantic.

"Hey Embry. Jake wants to talk to you. I don't know. Just take the damn phone and talk. Jake, he looks like he might crap his pants."

"Put him on the phone Charlie... please." Now Jacob was getting mad.

"Hey Jake." The apprehension could be cut with a knife in Embry's voice.

"Em. Where's Bella?" Jacob kept his tone even.

"I don't know Jake. Me and Seth took her to the Terminator Marathon at the theater in Forks. While we were waiting to be let in, one of her friends showed up with those older guys from the res. Bella wound up sitting with them after the intermission and Angie sat with me. I think she likes me Jake. She gave me her number without even asking."

"How nice for you Em. I thought I could trust you with Bella. Why the hell is she hanging out with those older guys? Wait! Which older guys?"

"Um, Sam, Paul and Jared. They came in with Angie so we all sat together while we watched the movies. After the second movie was over, she left with Jared and Paul. I didn't even know they were gone until Sam told me that they left. I thought they were using the restroom."

The hot arrow of pain that shot through Jacob's chest stole his breath away. It took him a minute or two until he found his voice again.

"Paul and Jared." He whispered. "Paul and Jared." He shook his head in disbelief. "Why in hell would she leave with Paul and Jared?!" Now he was getting mad. Fighting mad.

"I don't know Jake. Like I said, I didn't even know that they were gone until Sam said something." Embry was pleading.

"Fucking perfect. Great way to end my day. Yep, it is." Jacob took up pacing between the kitchen and the dining room. "Em?"

"Yeah?"

"Have her call me when she decides to grace you with her presence again. Can you manage that?"

"Dude. I am not her keeper. Or your whipping post Jake. She does not want to be kept under lock and key until you get back. I don't think that it's fair that you put this all on me. I'm doing the best that I can." Embry was on the verge of indignant.

With a few cleansing breaths, Jacob's ire was retreating. "You're right. It wasn't fair of me to ask that much of you. You have your own life to lead and wrangling Bella Swan is not one of the required duties. I'm sorry for yelling." Jacob was deflating faster than he realized. "Just have her call me as soon as you can. Please."

"I will Jake. She kind of pissed me off ya know. That was a very rude thing to do to me and Seth. Facing her dad and telling him that I have no clue as to her whereabouts... something I never want to do again! Ever! He's scary!"

Jacob let out a quick chuckle. "I know man."

"Jacob?" Billy's voice came over the phone. "We will find her and figure out what her problem is. Ok? Don't lose any sleep over this. You need to get your rest. You have a very busy day tomorrow. We shall talk to you later, son. I love you with all my heart Jacob."

"Whoa! I didn't know that Billy was on the line!" Embry began to panic. "Nice talking to you Jake... and Billy. I need to get going. Mom's waiting dinner on me." With that, Embry hung up the extension phone and in two strides was out the front door. Billy's deep chested laughs came over the line.

"Glad you find this whole thing funny Dad."

"Jacob, my boy. The only thing that I find funny about this whole thing was Embry's face when he realized that I was listening to his story. I've never seen a tan skinned boy pale so fast!" He laughed some more. "Go to bed Jake. You are an hour ahead of us so I know it is getting late there. Rest and face tomorrow with new eyes. I love you Jacob."

"Love you too Dad. Talk to you again as soon as I can." They both hung up at the same time.

Jacob looked around the house. He wasn't sure what Lynn's nighttime closing routine was but he figured that as long as he locked the front and back doors, he would be fine. He made sure that the stove and oven were turned off. He checked the coffee maker to make sure it was off as well. That is when it struck him. He had gotten used to the smell of that last pot of coffee for the evening that Lynn would make. She always offered him some and he always politely turned it down. He picked up the empty carafe, gave it a strong sniff and lamented the fact that it smelled of dish soap instead of coffee. He determined that he was going to learn how to make a good pot of coffee and that he was going to have a cup every now and then.

Jacob turned off all the lights as he continued through the house. He took the stairs slowly as his fatigue was setting in. He did manage enough energy to whistle for Angus. The dog ran up the stairs like a blue and black lightning bolt. Jacob snorted at the dog's enthusiasm. He got to his room, sat down on the edge of the bed and began to undress. He pulled off his boots and socks. He stripped off his t-shirt and then his pants. He pulled down the blankets and slid in between the sheets and wrestled with the pillows for a moment or two until he was comfortable. He was about to turn off the lamp on the side table when he heard a faint whimper. He looked to his side and there was Angus, sitting next to the bed with his head resting on the bed. Those big brown puppy eyes staring at him intently. Jacob let out a sigh. "Get on up here you silly dog." With that, Angus leapt up onto the bed, walked in a circle a time or two and then thumped down in a curled pile of puppy at Jacob's feet. The pup let out a contented sigh. "Wished I felt as good as you." Jacob spoke softly. He reached over and flicked the lamp off. The room immediately was washed in moonlight through the window. He rolled his head so that he could look through the lace curtains that covered his windows. He stared out the window for about ten minutes before he tossed his arm over his eyes to cover them from the light. It was only then that he realized that he had been crying.

He let his tears flow without holding back. He fell asleep like that a half hour later.


End file.
